Abstract

The very high speed requirements that characterize interactive and real-time high-performance applications, such as parallel processing, video services, and high-quality imaging, initiated a considerable interest in networks that provide a large bandwidth to the users. In the future Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (BISDN) the photonic technologies will be essential, since the transmission bandwidth of optical fibers offers virtually unlimited transport capacities. As far as flexibility is concerned, network operation will rely on the asynchronous-transfer-mode (ATM) technique, a key multiplexing mode for future communication networks supporting various services at different bit rates and adopting standard-format fixed-length cells. A future broadband switching node will require a switching capacity of several terabits per socond, fed by input links with rates ranging from 155 Mbit/s to 2.5 Gbit/s. The switching-node bandwidth and speed could, therefore, become a bottleneck, and photonics appears attractive for ensuring high performance and increasing the switching-node throughput, operating speed, and flexibility. This communication deals with several concepts and techniques for ATM photonic switching currently under study within the frame of the RACE 2039 ATMOS research program.

© 1993 Optical Society of America