Multi-Terabit/s Optical Switch Fabrics Based on Fast Wavelength Switching in Tunable Lasers

We demonstrate a fast tunable laser trasmitter with 32 channels with a frequency spacing of 100 GHz on the ITU grid. The maximum switching time for any channel combination is 50 ns with a frequency accuracy of +-8 GHz. We investigate continuous wavelength switching between the 32 channels in a tunable laser transmitter. We also examine the effect of different switching schedules on the switching of the laser, an important issue for commercial switch fabrics.