Two critical components, needed for optical networks based on frequenc
y division multiplexing and frequency reuse technologies, are presente
d. One is a fast tunable laser, yielding 24 discrete frequencies regul
arly spaced by 40 GHz around 1.53 mum. The laser can be switched rando
mly in less than 8 ns among these frequencies. Frequency routing of a
3 Gb/s bit stream in 10 ns-packets between 10 different destinations h
as been demonstrated with this laser. The second component is a broadb
and wavelength shifter capable of switching multigigabit data between
optical frequencies in the 1.5-mum region. The device is tunable, casc
adable, provides conversion gain and is nearly polarization insensitiv
e. Data degradation after wavelength shifting is negligible. Such a de
vice provides the means of reusing the limited set of frequencies give
n by the lasers and thus of realizing large size networks.