All-Optical Packet Header and Payload Separation for Un-Slotted Optical Packet Switched Networks

摘要

A novel all-optical header and payload separation technique that can be utilized in un-slotted optical packet switched networks is presented. The technique uses a modified TOAD for packet header extraction with differential modulation scheme and two SOAs that perform a simple XOR operation between the packet and its self-derived header to get the separated payload. The main virtue of this system is simple structure and need not any additional continuous pulses. Through numerical simulations, the operating characteristics of the scheme are illustrated. In addition, the parameters of the system are discussed and designed to optimize the operation performance.