Abstract

Optical networks can be categorized into two main types: "Broadcast and Select" and “Wavelength Routing” [1]. The main building blocks in these networks are: star couplers in the former and wavelength-selective switches (WSS) in the later. The WSS is a switch that can independently switch different wavelengths. In both networks, tunability of transmitters or receivers is usually needed to provide the desired connections. In current technologies optical networks experience a “tunability bottleneck”: tunable lasers, although fast, are limited to a narrow region resulting in a relatively small number of wavelengths, and tunable filters are relatively slow for high speed applications.

© 1993 Optical Society of America