Recent progress toward multiterabit/s optical trans mission systems employi
ng all-optical ultrafast signal-processing technologies is described. Focus
is placed on optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM), as well as optical
time- and wavelength-division multiplexing (OTDM/WDM) technologies leading
to multiterabit/s transmission capacity. The key technologies, including u
ltra-fast pulse generation, all-optical multiplexing/demultiplexing, and op
tical timing extraction techniques, are also described, together with state
-of-the-art performances and future prospects.