AN ALL-OPTICAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

A novel photonic network, MATRIX (for Multi-wavelength All-optical TRa nsparent Information eXchange), is proposed in this paper. The all-opt ical multihop network supports wavelength continuity and provides a ve ry high network capacity. Spatial reuse of wavelengths as well as the multiplicity of fibers in optical fiber cables are exploited and enabl e the interconnection of N-2 network nodes with merely N wavelengths. The node structure is simple since neither tunable devices nor wavelen gth converters are required. Packets are routed through the network by photonic fast packet switching as well as by wavelength and experienc e a maximum hop number of two. Multiple optical paths between any pair of nodes provide a good network survivability.