Data transmission performance of an optical backboard bus

The data transmission performance of a previously proposed high-speed optical backboard bus, whose transmission-signal waveforms are theoretically unchanged even when the number and placement of its package boards are changed, has been estimated. The proposed bus is composed of an 8/spl times/8 optical star coupler, optical fibers, optical-transmitter modules, and optical-receiver modules. These modules are grouped on an optical backboard attached to the back side of a plug-in unit for an existing backboard bus assembly. Data can be transmitted at up to 1 Gb/s, which is about ten times faster than electrical bus rates, with no errors, even when changing the package boards. The proposed bus is adaptable to multi-channel lower-rate data transmission by using multiplexers and demultiplexers on the package boards to change the transmission rate.