Optical burst add-drop multiplexing technique for sub-wavelength granularity in wavelength multiplexed ring networks.

We demonstrate optical burst add-drop multiplexing as a practical application of the optical burst switching technology in a wavelength-division-multiplexed ring network. To control optical bursts in the network, a burst identifier (BI) for delivering control information, and a BI processor for handling the BI, were designed. Optical bursts of 10- to 100-mus in length were optically multiplexed or demultiplexed in an intermediate node of the ring network. The demonstration shows that the optical burst add-drop multiplexing technique provides sub-wavelength granularity to a ring network.