Abstract
We present results from the first gridless networking field trial with flexible spectrum switching nodes and 620 km of installed fibre links. Signals at 10G, 12.25G, 42.7G, DP-QPSK 40G, DP-QPSK 100G and 555G are generated, successfully transported and switched using flexible, custom spectrum allocation per channel. Spectrum defragmentation is demonstrated using integrated SOA-MZI wavelength converters. Results show error-free end-to-end performance (BER<1e-9) for the OOK channels and good pre-FEC BER performance with sufficient margin to FEC limit for the 40G and 100G coherent channels as well as for the 555G super-channel.
Highlights
Future transport networks will need to deal with a mix of providers traffic representing services (i.e. 10Gb/s legacy channels), core traffic (i.e 400 Gb/s and beyond super-channels), as well as alien traffic
Wavelength conversion could provide a vital network function for such spectrum defragmentation optimizing spectral efficiency. To represent this evolving network scenario, we report results from the first, to the best of our knowledge, gridless optical networking field trial with adaptive and flexible spectrum inner-core node as well as flexible spectrum switching nodes placed in different geographical locations, connected by several field fibre links totaling 620 km
The flexible-architecture inner-core node demonstrates adaptive architecture reconfiguration as in [6], mixed channels’ switching and spectral defragmentation using wavelength converters based on cross-gain modulation (XGM) in a semiconductor-optical-amplifier Mach Zehnder Interferomenter (SOA-MZI)
Summary
Future transport networks will need to deal with a mix of providers traffic representing services (i.e. 10Gb/s legacy channels), core traffic (i.e 400 Gb/s and beyond super-channels), as well as alien traffic (arbitrarily variable bit rate and format channels). To address increasing traffic growth, advances in modulation formats enable a 100G channel to fit in a standard 50-GHz WDM slot This may not be the case for higher bit-rate channels. Flexible and gridless optical networking is proposed to address such diverse requirements so as to switch and transport mix line rate technologies ranging from 10 Gb/s (25GHz spectrum) for better spectral efficiency to 555. Wavelength conversion could provide a vital network function for such spectrum defragmentation optimizing spectral efficiency To represent this evolving network scenario, we report results from the first, to the best of our knowledge, gridless optical networking field trial with adaptive and flexible spectrum inner-core node as well as flexible spectrum switching nodes placed in different geographical locations, connected by several field fibre links totaling 620 km. The flexible-architecture inner-core node demonstrates adaptive architecture reconfiguration as in [6], mixed channels’ switching and spectral defragmentation using wavelength converters based on cross-gain modulation (XGM) in a semiconductor-optical-amplifier Mach Zehnder Interferomenter (SOA-MZI)
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