Analysis and experimental demonstration of fast optical switching

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence workloads, cloud computing, and resource-disaggregated services is significantly increasing traffic inside data centers, pushing conventional electrical switching architectures toward limits in bandwidth density, power consumption, and I/O scalability [1]. Electrical switching fabrics require multiple tiers and repeated opticalelectrical-optical conversions, which increase latency, energy consumption, and operational complexity as network scale grows. Optical switching has therefore emerged as a promising approach to improve scalability by routing traffic directly in the optical domain while remaining largely independent of modulation format and data rate [1-4].
The partner organization develops and evaluates high-speed interconnect technologies and network architectures for data-center environments. Its main activities include integration of optical subsystems, evaluation of emerging interconnect technologies, and identification of practical deployment paths that improve performance without increasing infrastructure complexity or power consumption. A key challenge faced by the partner is determining whether fast optical switching techniques can be implemented using commercially viable components while maintaining error-free performance and practical link budgets compatible with existing transceiver ecosystems. Broader benefits include reduced data-center energy consumption and improved efficiency of digital infrastructure supporting cloud and AI services.
This project proposes the analysis and experimental demonstration of a nanosecond-scale wavelength-routed optical switching node using passive wavelength multiplexing and routing elements such as arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) [1]. The work will investigate whether fast optical gating or amplification is required to support high-speed operation and how such elements affect performance and power efficiency [5]. A proof-of-concept 4×4 demonstration will be used to validate switching behavior and transmission performance at PAM4 100 GBd. The anticipated outcomes include validated
performance data, architecture guidelines for scaling toward larger systems.

Faculty Supervisor:

Leslie Rusch

Student:

Partner:

WhalePiX

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Université Laval

Program: