Performance comparison of parallel optical interconnects for enterprise servers

There is an emerging need in the computing industry for higher bandwidth, longer distance, and increased density interconnections within clusters of high performance enterprise-class computer systems. Many of these servers share a common set of high level requirements which lend themselves to the us...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on components and packaging technologies 2005-03, Vol.28 (1), p.95-101
Main Authors: Atkins, R.G., DeCusatis, C.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Assembly
Bandwidth
Cables
Computer industry
Connectors
Copper
Ferrule
Fiber optics
High performance computing
MPO
Optical arrays
Optical fiber cables
Optical fibers
optical interconnect
Optical interconnections
Optical interconnects
Optical transmitters
parallel
Servers
vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)
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Summary:There is an emerging need in the computing industry for higher bandwidth, longer distance, and increased density interconnections within clusters of high performance enterprise-class computer systems. Many of these servers share a common set of high level requirements which lend themselves to the use of parallel optical interconnects to either supplement or replace existing copper data buses. In this paper, we describe the results of application testing performed on 12-fiber parallel optical cables and connectors, including a relative comparison between three different multimode cable assembly sources. Assembly loss and effects of both axial and off-axis pull forces are measured for cable samples mated to a laser transmitter array. Significant variations exist in the performance of the same type of cable assembly from different manufacturing sources, particularly concerning their susceptibility to pull forces; we also investigate the effects of fiber strain relief to improve performance of these links. While currently available 12-fiber array connectors are not equivalent in performance to standard duplex connectors, this work suggests areas for future improvement and data communication application requirements which should be considered when using parallel fiber optic arrays.
ISSN:1521-3331
1557-9972
DOI:10.1109/TCAPT.2004.843147