An all-optical long-distance multi-Gbytes/s bit-parallel WDM single-fiber link

An all-optical long-distance (>30 km) bit-parallel wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) single-fiber link with 12 bit-parallel channels having 1 Gbyte/s capacity has been designed. That system functionally resembles an optical fiber ribbon cable, except that all the bits pass on one fiber-optic waveguide. This single-fiber bit parallel wavelength link can be used to extend the (speed x distance) product of emerging cluster computer networks, such as, the MyriNet, SCI, Hippi-6400, ShuffleNet, etc. Here, the detailed design of this link using the commercially available Corning DS (dispersion-shifted) fiber is given. To demonstrate the viability of this link, two WDM channels at wavelengths 1530 and 1545 nm carrying 1 ns pulses on each channel were sent through a single 25.2-km long Corning DS fiber. The walkoff was 200 ps, well within the allowable setup and hold time for the standard ECL logic which is 350 ps for a bit period of 1 ns. This result implies that 30 bit-parallel beams spaced 1 nm apart between 1530-1560 nm, each carrying 1 Gbits/s signal, can be sent through a 25.2-km Corning DS fiber carrying information at a 30 Gb/s rate.