Demonstration of all-photonic spectral label-switching for optical MPLS networks

All-photonic label-switching of weight four spectral packet labels (concurrent quadruple wavelength conversion) is demonstrated for optical multiprotocol label-switching networks. The experimental setup is based on cross-gain modulation in a fiber ring laser using a semiconductor optical amplifier gain medium and uses commercially available components. Static transfer functions and step response measurements for various input-output label-switching combinations show that a noisy input label with small extinction ratio can be switched to a clean, amplified, output label