Agile Photonic Networks

Broadband communications over the Internet will soon deliver, virtually instantly and transparently, 'anytime, anywhere' multimedia communications. This will require the development of highly flexible, intelligent networks that offer large amounts of bandwidth-on-demand.

Today's fibre optic communications networks feature frequent optical/electronic conversions. Not only are these conversions expensive, they also limit scalability - in essence, they are 'bottlenecks'. Recently, all-optical switching technologies suitable for core network operations are becoming feasible, making it possible to develop an all-photonic network core that could potentially stretch very close to the end-user by dramatically reducing optical/electrical conversions.

To address this challenge, a Research Network entitled "Agile All-Photonic Networks" (AAPN) was launched in 2003. AAPN's ambitious five-year agenda, described in this Web site, is backed by a $7 million award by NSERC- the Government of Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council - as well as contributions from seven Canadian companies and two government laboratories.

AAPN's technology vision embraces all of the essential elements that are required to realize all-photonic networks of the future. Current telecommunication networks already exploit the power of light for signal transmission via the movement of photons over fibre. However, pulses of light, originating in electrical commands by users, are currently converted back into electrical signals at various stages in the communication process, notably during switching and also during the regeneration of the signals at specific points during long-haul transmission which is necessary to maintain the integrity of a signal. These optical-electronic conversions add greatly to the costs of network operation, require large amounts of power, and limit scalability - in essence, they are bottlenecks in today's optical communications networks.

The prospect of an all-photonic network which limits electronics technology to network access points only is a widely recognized and sought-after objective within the global telecommunications industry.