| Abstract
| - Abstract. This paper presents the fibre delay line switching matrix, a high-performance photonic system consisting of an electrically controlled optical high-speed transport network. This photonic matrix adopts the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technique and an internal self-routing architecture based on wavelength encoding, for cell routing and multiplexing. A set of output queues provides the buffering function. An extensive performance evaluation is presented, with reference to both the traffic throughput and technology feasibility. Numerical results have been obtained to evaluate optical performance and the implementation of a 4×4 demonstrator, supporting a 2.5 Gbit s-1 input/output rate, shows the feasibility of the matrix with state-of-the-art optical technology. Its high performance makes the fibre delay line switching matrix a strong candidate for implementing the core of future high-speed broadband ATM switches.
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