Patent ID: 7224901

Claim:
An all-optical packet gate, comprising: a) an optical dividers having a first input and first and second outputs, to receive optical packets at said input and to direct said packets to each of said first and said second outputs, said optical packets having encoded headers and payloads, wherein said first output includes; a decoding device, to decode one of said encoded headers of one of said optical packets and to produce a pulse in response to one of said encoded headers propagating in said first output; and a copier, to produce a plurality of images of said pulse; and b) an AND gate having second and third inputs and a third output, wherein said AND gate is arranged to receive said plurality of images of said pulse at said second input and one of said packets at said third input, to optically produce time coincidence between said plurality of images of said pulse and pulses of the payload of one of said optical packets propagating in said third input, to produce at said third output a signal similar to one of said payloads.