Proposal and experimental demonstration of SDM node enabling path assignment to arbitrary wavelengths, cores, and directions

We propose a novel simple space division multiplexing (SDM) node which is rearrangeble nonblocking, and effectively utilizes enhanced network resources through SDM. The proposed node can reduce a number of ports of wavelength selective switches (WSSs) and a number of WSS modules by modifying conventional multi-stage switches and employing integrated multiple arrayed WSSs. We experimentally actualized the newly proposed node, and demonstrate wavelength, core, and direction switching functions based on 127-Gbps Dual Polarization Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DP-QPSK) signals. We also confirm the feasibility of the proposed SDM node through SDM transmission experiments using a 40-km multicore fiber and a multicore amplifier.