Multi-wavelength Optical Switch Fabric for Next-Generation Optical Switches

Next-generation switches and routers in optical networks will rely on optical switch fabrics (OSFs) to overcome the problem of the unnecessary optical-electrical-optical conversions and signal processing. In this paper, we propose a new architecture of an OSF based on tunable fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The main feature of the architecture is its ability to be used for both packet and circuit switching networks. Furthermore, the use of FBG endows the proposed design with simplicity, low insertion loss and low cost. In addition, the new architecture fits the operations of equally and unequally spaced channels and provides wavelength modularity. Finally, contention resolution is suggested using a multi-wavelength converter.