All-optical label swapping of in-band addresses and 160 Gbit/s data packets

A 1 x 4 all-optical packet switch is presented, based on an optical label swapping technique that utilises a scalable label processor and a label rewriter with 'on the fly' operation. Experimental results show error-free packet switching with a data payload at 160 Gbit/s. The label erasing and new label insertion operation introduces 0.5 dB of power penalty. These results indicate a potential utilisation of the presented technique in a multi-hop packet switched network.