A compact all-optical subcarrier label-swapping system using an integrated EML for 10-Gb/s optical label-switching networks

Abstract

We propose a compact and simple all-optical subcarrier-multiplexed (SCM) label-swapping system employing an integrated electroabsorption modulation laser and a semiconductor optical amplifier based Mach-Zehnder interferometer wavelength converter. The experiments demonstrated error-free all-optical label swapping for the 155-Mb/s label and 10-Gb/s payload over two optical label-switching network nodes with less than 0.7-dB power penalty on the payload. The majority of the components in this SCM label-swapping system can be realized on a semiconductor platform (e.g., InP), which implies a step toward possible monolithic or hybrid integration of the all-optical label-swapping system in the future.