Improved WDM packet switch architectures with output channel grouping

We present two switching schemes for routing optical information signals that are transported by wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) networks with and without grouping of optical channels of different wavelength allocations. A brief account of two WDM packet switches without channel grouping are briefly described with the use of a neural network controller for routing control to illustrate the necessity for grouping wavelength channels. This leads to designs of improved WDM packet switch architectures which are described in details for wavelength routing, broadcasting and selecting wavelength channels. Optical channels with different wavelength allocations are grouped and appropriate routing algorithms are designed to enhance the throughput efficiency of the packet switch. Computer simulation is carried out to evaluate the performance of a WDM packet switching system with output channel grouping which exhibits only single intermediate stage architecture.