Optical packet routing and virtual buffering in an eight-node data vortex switching fabric

We demonstrate the routing of optical packets containing an eight-wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) channel 10-Gb/s payload through an eight-node subnetwork of the data vortex packet switching fabric. The single-pulse WDM encoding employed for the header and frame bits greatly simplifies the routing control functions and reduces the switching latency. The unique synchronous and distributed control mechanism eliminates the requirement of optical buffering and avoids packet contention. We demonstrate the virtual buffering capability of the switching fabric through a cascade of seven node hops, achieving a power penalty of less than 1.5 dB for each of the eight payload channels.