Optical backplane interconnection
First Claim
1. An optical backplane arrangement comprising:
- M circuit boards, each of said circuit boards having an optoelectronic bus transceiver, said optoelectronic bus transceiver having n optical signal lines;
M optical cables having N optical signal lines, one of said optical cables being connected to the optoelectronic bus transceiver of a specific one of said circuit boards so that each of the N optical signal lines of said optoelectronic bus transceiver is connected to a specific one of the N optical signal lines of said optical cable;
a reflective star coupler array having N reflective star couplers, each of said reflective star couplers having M guide channels, M input ports and a mixer, each of said guide channels being connected to said mixer and to a respective one of said input ports, said mixer having a reflective surface arranged so that light propagating along any one of said guide channels is reflected by said reflective surface and distributed by said mixer to all of said M guide channels, said reflective star couplers being configured and oriented relative to one another so that said input ports have a predetermined arrangement; and
an alignment matrix for connecting said optical cables to said reflective star coupler array, said alignment matrix having M×
N alignment apertures, said alignment apertures being disposed in said predetermined arrangment so that each aperture holds a specific one of said N optical signal lines in alignment with a specific one of the input ports of said reflective star couplers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical waveguide reflective star coupler array for interconnecting printed circuit boards or modules in a parallel and broadcast topology. The reflective star coupler array has N reflective star couplers, where N is the number of signal lines to be connected in parallel. Each reflective star coupler has M guide channels, where M is the number of circuit boards to be connected in the backplane configuration. Each guide channel extends between an input port and a mixer. The mixer has a reflective surface arranged so that light propagating along any one of the guide channels is reflected and evenly distributed by the mixer to all of the ports of the star coupler and, hence, to all of the Mth signal lines.
97 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An optical backplane arrangement comprising:
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M circuit boards, each of said circuit boards having an optoelectronic bus transceiver, said optoelectronic bus transceiver having n optical signal lines; M optical cables having N optical signal lines, one of said optical cables being connected to the optoelectronic bus transceiver of a specific one of said circuit boards so that each of the N optical signal lines of said optoelectronic bus transceiver is connected to a specific one of the N optical signal lines of said optical cable; a reflective star coupler array having N reflective star couplers, each of said reflective star couplers having M guide channels, M input ports and a mixer, each of said guide channels being connected to said mixer and to a respective one of said input ports, said mixer having a reflective surface arranged so that light propagating along any one of said guide channels is reflected by said reflective surface and distributed by said mixer to all of said M guide channels, said reflective star couplers being configured and oriented relative to one another so that said input ports have a predetermined arrangement; and an alignment matrix for connecting said optical cables to said reflective star coupler array, said alignment matrix having M×
N alignment apertures, said alignment apertures being disposed in said predetermined arrangment so that each aperture holds a specific one of said N optical signal lines in alignment with a specific one of the input ports of said reflective star couplers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An optical coupling arrangement for interconnecting M optical cables in a backplane configuration, each of said optical cables having N optical signal lines to be interconnected in parallel so that the Nth optical signal line of each of the M cables is connected the Nth optical signal line of each other one of said M cables, said coupling arrangement comprising:
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a reflective star coupler array having N reflective star couplers, each of said reflective star couplers having M guide channels, M input ports and a mixer, each of said guide channels being connected to said mixer and to a respective one of said input ports, said mixer having a reflective surface arranged so that light propagating along any one of said guide channels is reflected by said reflective surface and distributed by said mixer to all of said M guide channels, said reflective star couplers being configured and oriented relative to one another so that said input ports have a predetermined arrangement; and an alignment matrix for connecting said optical cables to said reflective star coupler array, said alignment matrix having M×
N alignment apertures, said alignment apertures being diposed in said predetermined arrangement so that each aperture holds a specific one of said N optical signal lines in alignment with a specific one of the input ports of said reflective star couplers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A method of fabricating a reflective star coupler, comprising:
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providing an n×
n planar star coupler, said coupler including a mixing region having a length Lm ;cutting said planar star coupler in a cross-sectional direction through said mixing region substantially at the midpoint of said length Lm to expose a surface of said mixing region; polishing the exposed surface of said mixing region and applying a reflective coating thereto. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification