Experimental demonstration of a high-speed all-optical tunable-channel multi-access (TCMA) network

This paper presents the experimental demonstration of an ultrahigh-speed all-optical tunable-channel multi-access (TCMA) network based on novel ideas and technologies that could surmount the difficulties in ultrahigh-speed optical time-domain-multiaccess (TDM) networking. The demonstration includes: simple and fast channel-tuning capability with channel switching time <5 ns, high speed optical multiplexing and demultiplexing (16 Gb/s) with a potential of reaching 100 Gb/s, and relaxed synchronization requirement for multi-access packet networks. To achieve these goals, two novel ideas in lightwave technologies and network architecture, namely fast channel-tunable transmitters and destructive-writing scheme, are implemented. We believe these schemes have great chance to overcome the asperity of realizing ultrahigh-speed (/spl sim/100 Gb/s) optical TDM networks.