Single-PPLN-assisted wavelength-/time-selective switching/dropping/swapping for 100-GHz-spaced WDM signals.

We propose an approach to implementing wavelength- and time-selective optical switching, dropping and swapping based on the sum-frequency generation (SFG) or cascaded sum- and difference-frequency generation (cSFG/DFG) in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide. Analytical solutions are derived, showing the parametric depletion effect for optical switching and the narrow-band operation due to quasi-phase matching (QPM) condition of PPLN. Using parametric depletion effect of SFG process, we demonstrate wavelength- and time-selective optical switching for ITU-grid compatible 40-Gbit/s wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) signals with a channel spacing of 100 GHz. Less than 1-dB power penalty at a bit-error rate (BER) of 10(-9) is measured for the wavelength- and time-selective switching channel. Negligible impacts are observed on other channels of WDM signals. Using combined effects of parametric depletion and wavelength conversion of cSFG/DFG processes, we demonstrate wavelength- and time-selective optical dropping for ITU-grid compatible 100-GHz-spaced 40-Gbit/s WDM signals. Moreover, we demonstrate optical swapping between two 100-GHz-spaced 40-Gbit/s signals. The obtained theoretical and experimental results confirm single-PPLN-assisted wavelength- and time-selective optical switching, dropping and swapping for 100-GHz-spaced WDM signals, which might potentially be extended to WDM signals with narrower channel spacing.