25-08-2014, 02:14 PM
Optical Switching
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INTRODUCTION
Explosive information demand in the internet world is
creating enormous needs for capacity expansion in next generation
telecommunication networks. It is expected that the data- oriented
network traffic will double every year.
Optical networks are widely regarded as the ultimate solution
to the bandwidth needs of future communication systems. Optical
fiber links deployed between nodes are capable to carry terabits of
information but the electronic switching at the nodes limit the
bandwidth of a network. Optical switches at the nodes will overcome
this limitation. With their improved efficiency and lower costs,
Optical switches provide the key to both manage the new capacity
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) links as well as
gain a competitive advantage for provision of new band width hungry
services. However, in an optically switched network the challenge lies
in overcoming signal impairment and network related parameters. Let
us discuss the present status, advantages and challenges and future
trends in optical switches.
CONCLUSION
Photonic packet – switched networks offer the potential of
realizing packet-switched networks with much higher capacities than
may be possible with electronic packet-switched networks. However,
significant advances in technology are needed to make them practical,
and there are some significant roadblocks to overcome, such as he
lock of economical optical buffering and the difficulty of propagating
very high speed signals at tens and hundreds of gigabits/second over
any significant distances of optical fiber. There is a need for compact
soliton light sources. At this time, fast optical switches have relatively
high losses, including polarization-dependent losses, and are not
amenable to integration, which is essential to realize large switches.
Temperature dependence of individual components can also be a
significant problem when multiplexing, demultiplexing, or
synchronizing signals at such high bit rates.