For the next generation of HighThroughPut (HTP) Telecommunications Satellites, space end users’ needs will result in higher link speeds and an increase in the number of channels; up to 512 channels running at 10Gbits/s. By keeping electrical interconnections based on copper, the constraints in term of power dissipation, number of electrical wires and signal integrity will become too demanding. The replacement of the electrical links by optical links is the most adapted solution as it provides high speed links with low power consumption and no EMC/EMI.
But replacing all electrical links by optical links of an On Board Payload (OBP) is challenging. It is not simply a matter of replacing electrical components with optical but rather the whole concept and architecture have to be rethought to achieve a high reliability and high performance optical solution. In this context, this paper will present the concept of an Innovative OBP Optical Architecture.
The optical architecture was defined to meet the critical requirements of the application: signal speed, number of channels, space reliability, power dissipation, optical signals crossing and components availability. The resulting architecture is challenging and the need for new developments is highlighted. But this innovative optically interconnected architecture will substantially outperform standard electrical ones.
A microoptical 3D interconnection scheme and fabricated samples of this fiberoptical multi-channel interconnec-
tion with an actual capacity of 144 channels were shown. Additionally the aspects of micrometer-fabrication of
such microoptical interconnection modules in the view of alignment-tolerances were considered. For the realiza-
tion of the interconnection schemes, the approach of planar-integrated free space optics (PIFSO) is used with its
well known advantages. This approach offers the potential for complex interconnectivity, and yet compact size.
A parallel board-level interconnection design is presented consisting of 32 channels, each operating at 10 Gbps.
The hardware uses available optoelectronic components (VCSEL, TIA, pin-diodes) and a combination of planarintegrated
free-space optics, fiber-bundles and available MEMS-components, like the DMD™ from Texas Instruments.
As a specific feature, we present a new modular inter-board interconnect, realized by 3D fiber-matrix
connectors. The performance of the interconnect is evaluated with regard to optical properties and power consumption.
Finally, we discuss the application of the interconnect for strongly distributed system architectures,
as, for example, in high performance embedded computing systems and data centers.
We consider the implementation of a dynamic crossbar interconnect using planar-integrated free-space optics (PIFSO)
and a digital mirror-device™ (DMD). Because of the 3D nature of free-space optics, this approach is able to solve
geometrical problems with crossings of the signal paths that occur in waveguide optical and electrical interconnection,
especially for large number of connections. The DMD device allows one to route the signals dynamically. Due to the
large number of individual mirror elements in the DMD, different optical path configurations are possible, thus offering
the chance for optimizing the network configuration. The optimization is achieved by using an evolutionary algorithm
for finding best values for a skewless parallel interconnection. Here, we present results and experimental examples for
the use of the PIFSO/DMD-setup.
Conference Committee Involvement (1)
Optoelectronic Interconnects XIII
3 February 2013 | San Francisco, California, United States
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