A photonic crystal fibre including a plurality of longitudinal holes (220), in which at least some of the holes have a different cross-sectional area in a first region (200) of the fibre, that region having been heat-treated after fabrication of the fibre, from their cross-sectional area in a second region of the fibre (190), wherein the optical properties of the fibre in the heat-treated region (200) are altered by virture of the change in cross-sectional area of holes (230) in that region (200).

Photonic crystal fibres

This paper consists of a categorization of optical buffering strategies for optical packet switches, and a comparison of the performance of these strategies both with respect to packet loss/delay and bit error rate (BER) performance. Issues surrounding optical buffer implementation are discussed, and representative architectures are introduced under different categories. Conclusions are drawn about packet loss and BER performance, and about the characteristics an architecture should have to be practical. It is shown that there is a strong case for the use of optical regeneration for successful cascading of these architectures.

Buffering in optical packet switches

Semiconductor optical amplifiers are useful building blocks for all-optical gates as wavelength converters and OTDM demultiplexers. The paper reviews the progress from simple gates using cross-gain modulation and four-wave mixing to the integrated interferometric gates using cross-phase modulation. These gates are very efficient for high-speed signal processing and open up interesting new areas, such as all-optical regeneration and high-speed all-optical logic functions.

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Semiconductor optical amplifier-based all-optical gates for high-speed optical processing

This paper reviews advanced optical burst switching (OBS) and optical packet switching (OPS) technologies and discusses their roles in the future photonic Internet. Discussions include optoelectronic and optical systems technologies as well as systems integration into viable network elements (OBS and OPS routers). Optical label switching (OLS) offers a unified multiple-service platform with effective and agile utilization of the available optical bandwidth in support of voice, data, and multimedia services on the Internet Protocol. In particular, OLS routers with wavelength routing switching fabrics and parallel optical labeling allow forwarding of asynchronously arriving variable-length packets, bursts, and circuits. By exploiting contention resolution in wavelength, time, and space domains, the OLS routers can achieve high throughput without resorting to a store-and-forward method associated with large buffer requirements. Testbed demonstrations employing OLS edge routers show high-performance networking in support of multimedia and data communications applications over the photonic Internet with optical packets and bursts switched directly at the optical layer

Optical Packet and Burst Switching Technologies for the Future Photonic Internet

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Optics Express, this paper reviews the evolution of optical fiber communication systems, and through a look at the previous 20 years attempts to extrapolate fiber-optic technology needs and potential solution paths over the coming 20 years. Well aware that 20-year extrapolations are inherently associated with great uncertainties, we still hope that taking a significantly longer-term view than most texts in this field will provide the reader with a broader perspective and will encourage the much needed out-of-the-box thinking to solve the very significant technology scaling problems ahead of us. Focusing on the optical transport and switching layer, we cover aspects of large-scale spatial multiplexing, massive opto-electronic arrays and holistic optics-electronics-DSP integration, as well as optical node architectures for switching and multiplexing of spatial and spectral superchannels.

Fiber-optic transmission and networking: the previous 20 and the next 20 years [Invited]

The large growth of telecommunication traffic demand generated by multiple new applications and expected to last at least for the next decade will force telecom operators to consider offering more flexible transport services. All-optical packet switching is a powerful technique to provide this flexibility and to support in a cost-efficient way a wide range of bandwidth consuming applications. After a very brief introduction about the packet-switched network architecture studied in the framework of the ACTS KEOPS project, we describe the structure of the packet-switching node we have defined. We then move into physical and logical analysis of the network including more than 40 network sections based on 160 Gb/s throughput optical packet switching nodes could operate error free. In addition, logical simulations have proved that such networks could provide a quality of service (packet loss rate and packet transfer delay per node) compatible with a large variety of service classes. Both results validate the feasibility of the network concept and pace the way toward a flexible network based on all-optical switching techniques.

Physical and logical validation of a network based on all-optical packet switching systems

The present invention relates to a method of limiting coupling losses between a monomode optical fiber (2) having a mode diameter of Wo, and an optical system (1) having a mode diameter W'o that is different from Wo, said method being characterized by the fact that a piece (4) of multimode fiber is welded onto the end of said monomode fiber, said piece of multimode fiber having a length in the range 0.1 mm to 5 mm, and having the same cladding outside diameter as said monomode fiber, a mode diameter substantially equal to W'o, and an index difference δn lying in the range 5×10-3 to 50×10-3, the weld creating an adiabatic cone in the region where the cores meet.

Method of limiting coupling losses between monomode optical fibers using a piece of multimode optical fiber

A hybrid optical device includes a passive component coupled optically to an active component, the passive component being formed in layers of silica on a substrate made of silica, the layers and the substrate thus forming a silica-on-silica structure. The hybrid optical device includes an intermediate element having good thermal conductivity and a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the active component, wherein the active component is fixed to the intermediate element prior to insertion into the cavity, and the intermediate element is fixed to the structure so that the active component is located inside the cavity and is coupled optically to the passive component.

Hybrid optical module including an intermediate element

A bit rate as high as 19Gbit/s transmission was experimentally demonstrated for NG-PON without chromatic dispersion compensation by direct modulation of DFB laser using DMT signal combined with adaptive power-bit loading algorithm.

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High bit rate transmission for NG-PON by direct modulation of DFB laser using discrete multi-tone

A DFB laser (2) is coupled to a monomode line fiber (14) via an isolator constituted by a Faraday rotator crystal (4) and a polarizing fiber (10) which is welded to a fiber to be coupled (14). A focusing lens (8) is integrated in an intermediate block including the rotator crystal (4) and a permanent magnet (6). The invention is particularly suitable for making light-emitting heads for use in optical fiber telecommunications systems.

Emmanuel Grard

Papers

Physical and logical validation of a network based on all-optical packet switching systems

Method of limiting coupling losses between monomode optical fibers using a piece of multimode optical fiber

Hybrid optical module including an intermediate element

High bit rate transmission for NG-PON by direct modulation of DFB laser using discrete multi-tone

Optical module with an integrated isolator for coupling a semiconductor laser to a light guide