Introduction

Optical interconnection circuit for backplanes of high capacity ICT apparatus (>100Mbps) and related assembly method. The solution is based on a planar optimized routings of the fiber optics ribbons on a support. A controlled deformation of the ribbons is accomplished by mechanical constrains embedded into the support. General purpose optical fiber ribbons and standardized connectors are utilized.

Technical features

The invention consists of an optical interconnection circuit between cards of high capacity ICT apparatus which uses clusters of optical fibers (ribbon, cable), a frame support and standardized connectors. The overall optical circuit is partitioned into N independent sub-circuits connecting all cards mounted on the backplane (Full Mesh architecture). In the Tx-Rx connections, optical fibers are not splitted and they always remain gathered as cluster. The optical circuit has a planar layout on the backplane or on mate plane on it (minimum size). Optical connectors layout has a regular development on a Nx2 matrix and fibers lie on a support frame. Each Tx/Rx connection is achieved by means of controlled deformations of the fibers, thanks to mechanical constrains embedded on the frame support. The developed automatic assembly methods are part of the patent.

Possible Applications

• High capacity ICT apparatus;
• Big data centers;
• HW Infrastructure for internet and big data;
• Servers;
• High performance computing;
• The assembly method can be applied to other sectors.

Advantages

• Circuits size reduction compared to the state of the art;
• More effective production process;
• Modular and scalable backplanes;
• More efficient and cheaper ICT apparatus maintenance;
• Use of commercial optical fibers and standardized connectors;
• High IP protection.