Title :
An 8-Gb/s optical backplane bus based on microchannel interconnects: design, fabrication, and performance measurements
Author :
Kim, Gicherl ; Han, Xuliang ; Chen, Ray T.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Texas Univ., Austin, TX, USA
Abstract :
We describe the characteristics of a microchannel-based optical backplane including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), interconnect distances, and data transfer rates. The backplane employs 250 /spl mu/m-spacing two-dimensional (2-D) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and a microlens array to implement 500 /spl mu/m-, 750 /spl mu/m-, and 1-mm optical beam arrays. By integrating the transmitter and a multiplexed polymeric hologram as a deflector/beam-splitter for the guided-wave optical backplane, the result demonstrates a multibus line architecture and its high-speed characteristics. Maximum interconnect distances of 6 cm and 14 cm can be achieved to satisfy 10/sup -12/ bit error rate (BER) using 2/spl times/2 beams of 500 /spl mu/m- and 1 mm-spacing array devices. The total data transfer rate of the developed backplane has shown 8 Gb/s from eye diagram measurements.
Keywords :
computer networks; microlenses; optical backplanes; optical beam splitters; optical deflectors; optical design techniques; optical fabrication; optical transmitters; surface emitting lasers; system buses; 1 mm; 14 cm; 2D vertical cavity surface emitting lasers; 500 mum; 6 cm; 8 Gbit/s; 8-Gb/s optical backplane bus; VCSEL; data transfer rates; deflector/beam-splitter; eye diagram measurements; guided-wave optical backplane; high-speed characteristics; interconnect distances; maximum interconnect distances; microchannel interconnect; microchannel-based optical backplane; microlens array; multibus line architecture; multiplexed polymeric hologram; optical beam arrays; optical design; optical fabrication; performance measurements; signal-to-noise ratio; total data transfer rate; Backplanes; High speed optical techniques; Microchannel; Optical arrays; Optical beams; Optical interconnections; Optical polymers; Optical transmitters; Stimulated emission; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
