To provide a photoelectric composite buffer not needing lots of optical buffers or lots of photoelectric conversion circuits by combining optical buffers and electric buffers as a multi-stage configuration.
In the case that a plurality of optical ATM packets multiplexed up to N packets at maximum simultaneously by an optical frequency routing section reaches one output port, an optical buffer section 30 provides an output of n-packets at maximum at the same time. In the case of N>n, the optical buffer section 30 stores copies of optical frequency multiplex packets and provides an output of the rest at succeeding time slots. It is possible that even undesired packets are multiplexed and outputted in the outputs from the buffer section 30. Then an optical frequency selection section 40 selecting and outputting n-waves of optical signals from the optical multiplex signals just after the buffer section 30 is placed and n-sets of valid packets are individually extracted. They pass through a photoelectric conversion section 50, in which they are converted into electric signals. Outputs from an electric buffer section 60-1 are given to an electric selection section 11, in which they are collected into one and a final output is obtained.
MATSUNAGA TORU
HABARA TAKASHI
Next Patent: ATM RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM