Demonstration of simultaneous FDM signal switching by polarization-controlled switch for survivable fiber networks

Abstract

A polarization-controlled switch is proposed for survivable fiber network construction to retain high survivability in case of fiber failure. The switching performance was demonstrated for FSK modulated FDM signals. The FDM signals were switched simultaneously and no degradation was observed in the bit-error-rate performance. The switch has an almost constant loss and crosstalk better than 20 dB in the 1.51-1.59 mu m wavelength range, which is much wider than that of the gain spectrum of the Er/sup 3+/-doped optical amplifier.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>