Demonstration of Stable Wavelength Switching on a Fast Tunable Laser Transmitter

We demonstrate 26 hours of error-free wavelength switching between 32 ITU channels in less than 50 ns using a GCSR laser. We also examine the effect of different switching schedules on the long-term switching behavior of the laser, an important issue for commercial switch fabrics. Long-term switching to all 32 channels of the laser is characterized in terms of a "Packet-Loss-Rate" that is defined in this paper. Packet-Loss Rates are studied as a function of the switching time window within which a laser tunes to an ITU channel within a specified accuracy in frequency.