VCSEL-based broadband optical switch for ultra-wide high-speed traffic routing in Datacom

Abstract

Real-time wavelength switching and routing at key access network nodes is an emerging fundamental functionality requirement for transparent content resolution and wavelength assignment towards better utilization of network resources under dynamic traffic patterns. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the first vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)-based broadband switch for ultra-wide wavelength data traffic routing in Datacom. An 850 nm multimode VCSEL is directly modulated with 8.5 Gbps data and successfully transmitted error free over 100.3 m of OM3 multimode fibre link. At the integration node, the received data signal is used to drive a second VCSEL at 1550 nm, and forwarded over a second network link over 24.7 km of single mode fibre. We therefore achieve the first reported all-optical, real-time, inter-band wavelength switch to C-band. By exploiting wavelength tuneability, the 1550 nm VCSEL-based forwarding node is tuned to over 3.2 nm spectral range, for ultra-wide data routing over the second network link. A receiver sensitivity of -14.28 dBm of the converted signal is achieved at back-to-back analysis at the integration node. An additional penalty of 2.72 dB is introduced over the 24.7 km of single mode fibre transmission link. This work offers a viable enabling development technology for broadband wavelength converters for application real-time wavelength routing in the access network, to address content resolution and wavelength assignment problem for current and future Datacom.