Towards transport networks based on 40 Gbit/s transmission: results from the IST ATLAS project

We report the main results from the IST ATLAS project on the transmission techniques for new network infrastructures. We report results on the transmission performance on 4/spl times/40 Gbit/s systems over a 500 km link, including wavelength conversion. We show that wavelength conversion based on a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) device and systems based on N/spl times/40 Gbit/s are now fundamental elements for future transport networks.