Active Optical Cables
Broadcom Inc.Request Info
SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 28, 2012 — Avago Technologies has announced its high-density active optical cables (AOCs) for high-performance computing and data center applications. They use proprietary technology that costs less per 10G link than active copper cables, and they enable high data throughput interconnects up to 100 m.
The portfolio includes 10-Gb Ethernet SFP+, 40-Gb Ethernet QSFP+ and 150G CXP optical cables. They use technology that accepts the same electrical inputs as a copper cable, but use optical fiber between the connectors, with electrical-to-optical conversion on the cable ends to improve speed and link distance without sacrificing compatibility with standard electrical interfaces.
AOCs are for communications within data centers, server farms, network switches and telecom switching centers. System applications include data aggregation, backplane communications and proprietary protocol data transfers.
Bit error rates are 10 to 15, compared with 10 to 12 for direct attach copper. Electromagnetic interference immunity (EMI) also is better because the high frequency EMI signal is confined within the pluggable modules while only the optical signal is transmitted along the cable. Reach is up to 20 m for the SFP+ and QSFP+ versions. Minimum cable bending radius is 30 mm.
https://www.broadcom.com/products/optical-sensors/spectrometers
https://www.photonics.com/Buyers_Guide/Broadcom_Inc/c1316
Photonics.com
Dec 2012