Monolithic 16-wavelength selector based on a chain of passband-flattened cyclic AWGs and optical switches.

An InP monolithically integrated wavelength selector based on combinations of integrated AWGs and SOAs selects one out of up to 16 input channels. Loss-compensated, error-free WDM channel selection operation with <2.3 dB penalties is reported, with an OSNR of up to 32.5 dB/0.1 nm.

Numerical and experimental study of a high port-density WDM optical packet switch architecture for data centers.

Data centers have to sustain the rapid growth of data traffic due to the increasing demand of bandwidth-hungry internet services. The current intra-data center fat tree topology causes communication bottlenecks in the server interaction process, power-hungry O-E-O conversions that limit the minimum latency and the power efficiency of these systems. In this paper we numerically and experimentally investigate an optical packet switch architecture with modular structure and highly distributed control that allow configuration times in the order of nanoseconds. Numerical results indicate that the candidate architecture scaled over 4000 ports, provides an overall throughput over 50 Tb/s and a packet loss rate below 10(-6) while assuring sub-microsecond latency. We present experimental results that demonstrate the feasibility of a 16x16 optical packet switch based on parallel 1x4 integrated optical cross-connect modules. Error-free operations can be achieved with 4 dB penalty while the overall energy consumption is of 66 pJ/b. Based on those results, we discuss feasibility to scale the architecture to a much larger port count.

Optical switching and detection of 640 Gbits/s optical time-division multiplexed data packets transmitted over 50 km of fiber.

We demonstrate 1×4 optical-packet switching with error-free transmission of 640 Gbits/s single-wavelength optical time-division multiplexed data packets including clock distribution and short pulse generation for optical time demultiplexing based on a cavityless pulse source.

A simple and low-power optical limiter for multi-GHz pulse trains.

We study the limiting-amplification capability of a saturated Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) followed by an optical band-pass filter. We experimentally demonstrate that this simple optical circuit can be effectively exploited to realize a low-power optical limiter for amplitude-modulated pulse trains at multi-GHz repetition rate. We report very large amplitude-modulation-reduction factors for the case of 20 and 40 GHz pulse trains that are super-imposed with modulating frequencies ranging from 100kHz to several GHz.

The hospital library as provider of consumer health information.

The health care environment of the 1990s demands that hospital libraries develop creative strategies for providing consumer health information (CHI). Librarians at the Reuben L. Sharp Health Sciences Library at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center have developed a multifaceted approach to the problem. Using a combination of institutional resources, private funding, and cooperative arrangements with public libraries, the Sharp Library helps to serve the consumer health information needs of the southern New Jersey community.

Recommended core collection of Web sites for hospital libraries.

Core lists of recommended resources have long been used as selection tools for collection development in hospital libraries. However, hospital librarians now rely on the Internet for access to up-to-date information to supplement materials available within their libraries. Many libraries now either maintain a library Web page or provide input for their institution's Web page. The difficulty is determining what sites to include on their page. This article is a basic guide to recommended links for hospital libraries. It is intended as a starting place for hospital librarians who wish to create (or add to) a Web page of good links to be used for answering reference questions, or as a list for library users. The list is available as a link from the Sharp Health Science Library Web page where it will be updated at least annually. Links will be checked on a regular basis.

Analysis of reference transactions using packaged computer programs.

Motivated by a continuing education class attended by the authors on the measurement of reference desk activities, the reference department at Scott Memorial Library initiated a project to gather data on reference desk transactions and to analyze the data by using packaged computer programs. The programs utilized for the project were SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and SAS (Statistical Analysis System). The planning, implementation and development of the project are described.

Building a miniMEDLINE database: which journals to choose?

Scott Memorial Library (SML) at Thomas Jefferson University has installed the Library Information System (LIS) developed by Georgetown University Medical Center Library. One component of the system is miniMEDLINE, a system for searching an inhouse database derived from NLM MEDLINE tapes. This paper describes the process involved in determining which journals should be included in SML's miniMEDLINE file; the number of titles and years covered; the balance between research and clinical titles; the representation of allied health fields; and the level of faculty involvement.