Design of optical router with bidirectional interleaver and OXC functions

Abstract

In this paper, a multifunction all-optical routing device using a pair of arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), optical circulators (OCs) and tunable fiber Bragg gratings (TFBGs) to realize the function of optical cross-connect (OXC) and bidirectional optical interleaver was proposed. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of using AWGs to realize the function of all-optical fiber bidirectional interleaver and OXC, in order to provide a more flexible optical network switching mechanism. With the development of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology, the development of OXC technologies has also come into practical use. Therefore, the optical signal can be routed directly in the optical network according to its wavelength without the need of optical-to-electrical (O/E) and electrical-to-optical (E/O) conversion, thus eliminating the need for electronic switching equipment at nodes and unnecessary waste of energy. Since different optical network units (ONUs) have different bandwidth requirements, the occurrence of optical interleavers solves the connection problem between the old system and the new system. Therefore, this study proposes an all-optical multi-function router to provide a more flexible optical network applications for DWDM lightwave systems.