Picolight and IBM Achieve Unprecedented Bandwidth Density For Optical Data Transmission
Source/Type: Press Releases - As issued by company

March 24, 2003... ATLANTA
Technology Triples Data Rates to 120 Gbps Over Existing Ribbon Fiber

Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) Conference - Picolight, Inc. and IBM today announced they have demonstrated a technology that sets a new standard for bandwidth density of data transmission between servers, routers, switches and cross-connect equipment. The thumb-sized SNAP12 modules operate at a full 10 Gbps per channel over standard 12-fiber ribbon to more than triple the performance of today’s 12-channel transmit/receive modules.

Picolight and IBM’s parallel optical interconnect technology solves the critical backplane bottleneck in high-throughput systems currently used in enterprise and storage area networks, points of presence, central offices, large data centers and wide-area network hubs. The technology could allow processors to be more tightly coupled, making server architectures more flexible and allowing servers to better handle varying workloads.

The joint technology combines 12 x 10 Gbps parallel optics from Picolight and IBM’s 12-channel laser driver integrated circuit (IC) to achieve more than 120 Gbps of aggregate interconnect capacity across existing fiber, enabling seamless upgrades to existing systems. The module occupies approximately one square inch of board space, the same as current 12-channel, 40 Gbps links, and provides unprecedented bandwidth density as measured in Gbps per square inch and Gbps per watt. Enabling a terabit per second of full-duplex communication in less than 10 front-panel inches, the technology shows the future path of optical interconnects for parallel computing, and core switching and routing at reaches up to 300 meters. The first public demonstration of the technology will be conducted in Booth # 7760 at OFC, March 25 through March 27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

“This technology not only sets a new benchmark for short-range optical bandwidth density but also for the requisite test infrastructure,” said Modest Oprysko, department group manager for communication technologies, IBM Research. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to provide the requisite bandwidth density using copper once links get to 10 Gbps data rates and lengths of 10 meters. We believe that 10 Gbps per channel data rates is a threshold for considering the use of optics in high aggregate databus links in high performance systems and this technology will help jumpstart the industry. This technology also outpaced the test equipment market, so IBM had to build our own test equipment to test and validate the simultaneous performance of all 12 optical channels.”

“Picolight is excited about this important parallel-optics achievement,” said Jack Jewell, founder and chief technical officer of Picolight, Inc. “By combining our standard 10 Gbps laser and parallel module packaging technologies with IBM’s silicon germanium VCSEL driver circuits, we have achieved unprecedented bandwidth density. The 12 x 10 Gbps format provides a more reliable alternative to low-speed, high-channel-count solutions using up to 48 channels to achieve the same throughput,” Jewell added. “Greater bandwidth density will become increasingly important with the advent of 4 Gbps disk I/O speeds and 10 Gbps storage area networks that create the need for 10 Gbps router and switch platforms using smaller fiber-optic transceivers.”

IBM also developed a unique low-cost, 12 channel 10 Gbps module tester based on commercially available chips that simultaneously tests all 12 channels of an optical link asynchronously at the full bit rate of 10 Gbps. Alternatively, the tester can drive 48 channels at 3.125 Gbps. The tester is an economical solution to the issue of parallel optical module test which is presently addressed only by multi-million dollar test equipment. Both the transmitter and the parallel tester will be demonstrated OFC next week in Atlanta.

Picolight pioneered a low-power, 12-channel parallel optical module design using VCSEL technology and a connectorized attachment approach that enables on-demand provisioning of optical bandwidth. Today, products like Picolight’s MAGNUS™ modules typically operate at up to 2.7 Gbps per channel for aggregate bandwidth of up to 40 Gbps, and a transmit/receive pair occupy about two square inches of board space, delivering 20 Gbps per square inch. For the OFC demonstration, Picolight has used 10 Gbps VCSEL technology to triple per-channel density. The combination of Picolight’s 12 x 10 Gbps parallel optics and IBM’s 12-channel laser driver IC delivers a breakthrough 60 Gbps per square inch of bandwidth density.

About IBM’s Research Division

IBM Research is the world’s largest information technology research organization, with more than 3,000 scientists and engineers at eight labs in six countries. IBM has produced more research breakthroughs than any other company in the IT industry.

About Picolight Inc.

Picolight is a rapidly growing, private, venture-backed company that designs and manufactures high-speed optoelectronic components and subsystems for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of networking equipment. The company provides transceiver subsystems for short-reach (1-meter to 20-kilometer) optical-networking connections, including optical switch interconnect, optical enterprise and storage area networks (SANs), and optical metro/access networks. From rack-to-rack and to the network edge, Picolight’s fiber link technology delivers cost-effective bandwidth for capacity-constrained networking equipment. Picolight is located in Boulder, Colo. and employs a staff of more than 100.


Editorial Contacts:
For Picolight:
Roslyn Whitehurst
Benjamin | A Weber Shandwick Company
949-260-1300
roslyn_whitehurst@benjamingroup.com

For IBM:
My Luu
IBM Research
914-945-2988
myluu@us.ibm.com

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