Apparatus and Methods for Scalable Photonic Packet Architectures Using PIC Switches

Embodiments are provided for scalable photonic packet fabric architectures using photonic integrated circuit switches. The architectures use compact size silicon photonic circuits that can be arranged in a combined centralized and distributed manner. In an embodiment, an optical switch structure comprises a plurality of core photonic based switches and a plurality of photonic interface units (PIUs) optically coupled to the core photonic based switches and to a plurality of groups of top-of-rack switches (TORs). Each PIU comprises a N×N silicon photonic (SiP) switch optically coupled to a group of TORs associated with the PIU from the groups of TORs, where N is a number of the TORs in each group. The PIU also comprises a plurality of 1×P SiP switches coupled to the group of TORs associated with the PIU and to the core photonic based switches, where P is a number of the core photonic based switches.