Simulation of an all-optical recirculating fiber loop buffer employing a symmetric Mach-Zender (SMZ) switch

A novel operation of the symmetric Mach-Zehnder (SMZ) switching architecture that does not rely on achieving a pi-phase change to effect switching is presented. The application of such a switch has wide implications especially in the optical broadcast networks. In this work the architecture will be employed to develop an all-optical fibre loop buffer suitable for use in optical time division multiplexed networks. Simulation results will show the successful implementation of the buffer and highlight the far reaching benefits of buffers employing this switching technique especially as it relates to buffering packets of varying length. Eye diagrams, which indicate the performance of the architecture, will also be presented. In addition, we will demonstrate how the architecture can be configured to effectively reduce the inter-packet crosstalk at the edges of the switching window profile.