Gigabit optical network interface card using parallel data fiber link for a free-space switched local area network system

We introduce a distributed parallel system, developed under VIVACE program which consists of eight host nodes connected through free-space optically interconnected (FSOI) switch with Terabit bi-section bandwidth. A PCI-based VIVACE optical network interface card (VONIC) with 12Gbps parallel data fiber link is the interface between the host and the FSOI switch. This paper describes the second generation VONIC and related testing results. At the center of the VIVACE system is a switch multi chip-module (MCM) consisting of sixteen CMOS ASICs integrated with two-dimensional GaAs VCSEL and photodetector arrays that are linked via free space using an opto-mechanical system.