Ultrafast All-Optical Signal Processing for Packet Switching

Recent advances in the development of 100 Gbit/s self-routing packet networks are described. The most practical design approach currently is to use very simple and sparse processing in the ultrafast domain, relying on only a small number of photonic devices with primitive functionality. The development of suitable address coding ‘keyword’ coding), ultrafast word recognition, and a new self-routing protocol (‘dead reckoning’) makes it possible to obtain efficient routing in ultrafast mesh networks with massive throughput and speed, yet requiring a minimal amount of bit-level processing.