Design and analysis of hybrid optical and electronic buffer based optical packet switch

Abstract

Optical packet switching has the potential to be used as next generation data transfer technology. This paper, introduces an Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWG) switch where hybrid buffer (electronic + optical) is used for the buffering of contending packets. Power budget analysis has been carried out under various switch designs. Comparison of optical and electronic buffering is done in terms of power required for the correct operation of the switch. Energy consumption per bit is also evaluated for both optical and electronic buffers for various buffering time ranges from nano-seconds to milli-seconds. In the switch analysis it has been found that, amplified switch requires five times less power, in comparison to un-amplified switch for correct operation. Energy consumption analysis reveals that for shorter duration storage, optical buffer would be a better choice.