An optical cross-connect system as a high-speed switching core and its performance analysis

In this paper, we study the system performance of an optical cross-connect based on a proposed architecture [1] as an ultra-high-speed switching core in a switching system. We provide some conceptual designs for its implementation. Using the designs, we analyze the system performance, through which the factors degrading the performance are identified. The main issue considered in the paper is crosstalk due to using space division switches which interconnect WDM subcross-connects. Other issues such as power loss, gain saturation effect and spontaneous emission noise of the amplifiers are also considered. Detailed numerical results are presented for a 64/spl times/64 optical cross-connect system, as an example, with the specified designs based on the proposed architecture. The results show possibility of constructing a 64/spl times/64 optical cross-connect with existing technologies.