OPERA: an optical packet experimental routing architecture with label swapping capability

This paper describes experimental and simulation results of the optical packet experimental routing architecture (OPERA) project. The OPERA network is based on a novel optical network interface router design that is optically regenerative and supports optical Internet protocol related functions including label swapping, packet routing and forwarding operations and wavelength reuse. Routing is based on subcarrier multiplexed header addressing, packet-rate wavelength conversion, and arrayed waveguide router technology. The routers are cascadable and use a unique double stage wavelength converter that supports header regeneration/replacement and maintains the payload extinction ratio. This approach overcomes dispersion limitations normally encountered using double sideband subcarrier multiplexing across a network. A discrete time simulation of the physical transport in an 8-hop network is reported. Multihop routing is experimentally demonstrated between two all-optical nodes and three input-output (I-O) ports of a waveguide grating array router. Packet-rate subcarrier header processing and wavelength conversion between six wavelengths is shown with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of recovered payload and headers at each hop.