Simple Signaling Scheme for Reconfigurable Optical Access Networks based on Optical FMCW

A signaling approach for reconfigurable optical access networks based on optical chirp slope detection is presented. The basic setup for optical FMCW-monitoring is extended by a simple signaling scheme to simultaneously protect and control the network. The basic idea of the signaling approach is to modulate the slope of the chirp signal which is transmitted to monitor the network. The proposed signaling scheme brings the possibility to switch network components from a central point hence paving the way to greener photonic networks. The principle of the signaling system is discussed followed by experimental results.