Architecture and performance of a broadcast and select photonic switch

A new photonic packet switch based on wavelength encoding of information and on the broadcast-and-select principle for routing is presented. A suitable management of a set of fiber delay lines to allow all-optical output queuing is performed through electronic control. Implementation and traffic aspects are analyzed. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the feasibility of the switch and its future evolution, achieved by a rack-mounted subequipped demonstrator. Different design options are discussed in order to achieve a global terabit per second capacity. Performance is evaluated by simulation under the typical traffic conditions that arise in the broadband communication environment. © 1998 Academic Press