Distributed Fast Power Equalization for efficient WDM Packet Switched Networks

We evaluate the system impact of distributed adaptive optical equalization based on custom-made automatic gain control semiconductor optical amplifiers (AGC-SOAs). The sensitivity -4 improvement is 2.5 dB at a bit error ratio (BER) of 10 , and the error floor at low BER is removed. Introduction Today, time division multiplexing (TDM) is used in access networks for providing burst-mode upstream transmission. In the metro segment, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is needed to provide scalable and high-capacity future systems. Hybrid TDM/WDM systems could be the right compromise between the high capacity provided by WDM virtual point-to-point links, and the TDM sub-wavelength granularity, allowing very efficient systems. In our metro system [1], efficient remote nodes (RN) collect the sporadic traffic from the access segment, and relay it to a WDM optical packet ring network. Electronic systems reach their limits, increasing the devices power consumption and footprint. Optical solutions could be used to overcome this bottleneck, in the interconnection nodes.Optical transparency based on optical logic gates, such as as semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA), was proposed to deflect the traffic which needs to reach other nodes in the simplest way [1]. This allows low power consumption and high-bandwidth signal processing. However, it is necessary to aggregate the traffic coming from the access network. We focus on the hybrid opto-electronic RN allowing better service flexibility, leading to an efficient use of network resources.