Experimental demonstration of an all-optical routing node for multihop wavelength routed networks

The experimental demonstration of an all-optical routing node for multihop packet wavelength routed networks is described. Packets are routed in real time between three space ports and five wavelengths using subcarrier multiplexed encoded headers. Fast wavelength conversion over 40 nm is achieved using a novel four section tunable semiconductor laser and a semiconductor optical amplifier. Simultaneous wavelength conversion of the baseband payload and subcarrier multiplexed header is also demonstrated.