Analysis of the physical impairments on maximum size and throughput of SOA-based optical burst switching nodes

In this paper, the physical limitations of semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based switching nodes for optical burst switching (OBS) are investigated. The investigation covers two broadcast-and-select (BAS)-based architectures. Their maximum size and throughput are, analyzed for nodes at different bit rates. As main impairments for signal degradation amplifier noise, crosstalk, SOA gain saturation and dynamics, and SOA chirp are evaluated by simulations. In conclusion, general rules for design burst switching nodes are established.