Strictly Nonblocking Multicasting WDM Optical Cross Connects Using Multiwavelength Converters

In this paper, we propose new strictly nonblocking multicast capable optical cross connects (MC-OXCs) architectures that exploit the potential of multi-wavelength converters (MWCs). An MWC is capable of simultaneously replicating a signal on an input wavelength to several output wavelengths. We investigate two families of MCOXCs based on use of full- and limited-range MWCs, and present a number of architectures in each of the two families. Proposed architectures present a trade-off between switching complexity, conversion cost, and signal loss