Switching performance of a novel optical label switch with time-domain-separated WDM labels

A novel wavelength-division-multiplexing label scheme for an optical label switch is proposed which has several advantages such as high-spectral and high-network efficiency, the bit-by-bit separation of labels without any active devices, and the label with low power consumption. In this letter, we achieved label/payload separation using the packet synchronized trigger pulse generated by input packets, label pattern recognition, and high-speed switching of less than 1-ns switching time with error-free performance. The power penalty between the input and the switched payloads was about 1 dB, which resulted from the wavelength conversion.