Synchronous Optical Packet Buffers

Synchronous optical packet buffering is presented as a solution for asynchronous time division multiplexed (TDM) optical packet switched networks. Truly asynchronous optical packet synchronization and buffering are demonstrated using multiple independent transmitters, synchronous optical buffers, and a burst mode receiver. Optical packet synchronizers are used to dynamically align incoming asynchronous packets to local timeslots for synchronous loading of buffers. Multiple optical buffers based on integrated InP technology resolve contention of packets destined for the same output port at the same time. TDM asynchronous optical packets are detected on a per packet basis using a burst mode receiver with better than 99.9% packet recovery. An analysis of power consumption of the synchronous buffers is presented and potential power reductions are discussed.