Low cost 10 gigabit/s optical interconnects for parallel processing

Fiber optic links offer several advantages over copper-based links including greater transmission distances, reduced cable and connector bulk and improved electrical isolation get copper-based links are still the predominant choice for parallel interconnections. The overwhelming disadvantage for fiber optic links to date has been the cost of the technology. The Jitney Optical Bus was designed to push the limits of low cost optics while maintaining enough performance for high speed parallel computing. Jitney is a 20 channel (500 Mb/s/ch) optical bus packaged in a plastic molded lead frame with a 'snap together' plastic optical coupler. The cables use plastic ferrules and large core fiber. Manufacturing cost estimates are competitive with copper and significantly under $100/Gbit/sec, for full duplex, Gigabyte/sec operation. Jitney has been successfully demonstrated in IBM AS/400 and RS6000 Power Parallel systems testbeds.