A 32×10 Gb/s DWDM metropolitan network demonstration using wavelength-selective photonic cross-connects and narrow-band EDFAs

The feasibility of a 32×10 Gb/s dense wavelength-division-multiplexed (DWDM) all-optical short-reach metropolitan network using dynamically reconfigurable three-dimensional microelectromechanical-system-based wavelength-selective photonic cross-connects (WSPXC) is experimentally investigated. Full DWDM amplification at the high-capacity node is performed with low-cost narrow-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers whose channel gain variation is compensated per span using the inherent channel equalization capability of the WSPXC. With Reed-Solomon forward error correction, bit-error rates better than 10^-15 are possible for all 32 channels over 400 km of single-mode fiber and ten transitions through the WSPXC nodes.