Theoretical analysis of the performance of the SCM label in the OLS networks

We theoretically investigate the generation, transmission and detection of the label signal in the optical SCM label switching system and clarify that the degradation of the label signal results from the fiber chromatic dispersion and the incomplete filtering out of the payload carrier. Our theoretical results show that the signal degradation is mainly caused by the fading effect and the expansion of the code edges. We also quantitatively analyze these theoretical results. The deep suppression of the optical carriers at receiver can greatly reduce the fading effect, and the electrical filtering and heterodyne detection techniques can improve the performance of the label signal. The time shift of the code edges leads to the closure of the label codes, which greatly limits the transmission distance as well as the radio frequency to generate the label subcarriers especially for the label with a high bit rate. SSB SCM can not only eliminate the closure of the label codes, but also reduce the fading effect. To our knowledge, this is the first time to develop a detail theoretical model to well explain the experimental results for SCM label switching systems.