Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L84230/01
Title:	PHOTONIC INTEGRATED GIGABIT SWITCHES (PIGS) FOR 100GB/S PACKETS
Principal Investigator:	Andonovic, Professor I
Other Investigators:	Hunter, Dr DK
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	BT QinetiQ
Department:	Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Organisation:	University of Strathclyde
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 June 1998	Ends:	31 May 2001	Value (£):	153,388
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Optical Communications
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Aerospace, Defence and Marine
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Optical packet switching is likely to have significant long-term impact on telecommunications. There is presently little research on this topic in Britain and this project represents the first such study, bringing together two respected and world leading institutions in the areas of optical switching systems, networking and optical device fabrication. The project will be driven by anticipated network requirements and its principle aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of both optical packet switching nodes with limited buffering and their concomitant synchronisation circuitry by fabricating useful and practical integrated switching modules. These modules will be incorporated into test-beds at the University of Strathclyde, Aston University and BT labs. The switch architecture use 2x2 switch devices and delay-line buffers which can be accurately fabricated at Glasglow in low loss silica-on-silicon technology. The SLA switch devices in the architecture only operate at the packet rate of several hundred Mb/s, simplifying the electronic control and ameliorating EMI problems which would otherwise prove troublesome. Small nodes of only three switches have been demonstrated using fibre rather than integrated delay line. The demonstration of an integrated node of five or six switches built on silica-on-silicon technology would be an impressive world first. This proposal describes research which will be of relevance to the telecommunications industry in the long term (>5 years). While WDM is currently seen as a means of reducing costs, optical packet switching will ultimately be necessary to enhance or replace it. This work will also benefit other researchers in the field - both in academia and in industry - as it will provide an enhanced understanding of the issues involved in building and operating such 100gb/s optical packet networks.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.strath.ac.uk