Experimental demonstration and cascadability analysis of a tunable optical buffer based on a re-circulating loop consisting of optical SSB modulator and FBG filter

We demonstrate a tunable optical buffer with variable time delays for label switching applications using an optical single sideband modulator in a fiber Bragg grating-filter loop. This optical buffer realizes payload storage with optional wavelength conversion function, providing flexibility in packet router design. Small sensitivity penalty is observed in our experiment after the payload circulating in the buffer loop three times. The cascadability of the tunable optical buffer is investigated. We provide analysis of the optical signal to noise ratio degradation due to accumulated amplified spontaneous emission noise, and the penalty caused by loss ripple and group delay ripple of the fiber Bragg grating.