This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination. IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS 1 Synchronous Optical Packet Buffers

Abstract—Synchronous optical packet buffering is presented as a solution for asynchronous time division multiplexed (TDM) opti-cal packet switched networks. Truly asynchronous optical packet synchronization and buffering are demonstrated using multiple in-dependent transmitters, synchronous optical buffers, and a burst mode receiver. Optical packet synchronizers are used to dynam-ically align incoming asynchronous packets to local timeslots for synchronous loading of buffers. Multiple optical buffers based on integrated InP technology resolve contention of packets destined for the same output port at the same time. TDM asynchronous op-tical packets are detected on a per packet basis using a burst mode receiver with better than 99.9 % packet recovery. An analysis of power consumption of the synchronous buffers is presented and potential power reductions are discussed. Index Terms—Buffers, optical communication, packet switch-ing, semiconductor optical amplifiers, synchronization. I