Controller board for 64x64 port high-performance optical switch
(Technology News, 22 Jan 2008 )
The board fabricated by Endicott Interconnect Technologies is a controller board for a 64×64 port, high-performance optical switch designed by IBM Zurich Research Lab. Said to be one of the most complex designs ever developed, it is a core component in the OSMOSIS (Optical Shared MemOry Supercomputer Interconnect System) research project on next-generation optical switch technology in high-performance computing systems. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and in cooperation with Corning Inc., IBM’s computer scientists developed a method of using optical switch elements to transfer packet data throughout the system using light. This switch is capable of transmitting 2.5 Terabits of data – equivalent to 20 high definition movies – in only 1 second. IBM researchers implemented this complex architecture for a 64-port optical switch technology demonstrator, achieving line rates of 40 Gb/s.
The board was fabricated as two sub-composites with deep blind vias that, once joined, went only half way through the full thickness of the board. EI’s engineering team provided the necessary depth control for the pin connections by developing a unique process that filled the vias to preserve the holes during lamination and then mechanically drilled the holes afterward.
The controller board design won a 19th Annual PCB Technology Leadership Award, a competition attracting printed circuit board designers from around the world, in the Telecommunications Switches, Network Servers, Base Stations & Computer Mainframes category.
