Tyco Electronics PARALIGHT Active Optical Cable Assemblies
Cost-Effective High-Data Throughput
February 2008—Tyco Electronics’ PARALIGHT active optical cable assemblies use state-of-the-art technology to provide cost-effective high-data throughput interconnects. The cables incorporate E/O and O/E conversion built into the connector shell to yield a dramatic improvement in PCB real estate utilization.

Using 850nm VCSELs, the PARALIGHT cable assemblies can be operated from 2.5 Gbps to 5 Gbps per channel. At 5 Gbps, it provides aggregate full-duplex throughput of 20 Gbps. These cable assemblies are available in lengths up to 100 meters using 50 micron multimode fiber. Short lengths use standard multimode fiber, longer lengths use laser optimized (OM3) fiber.

The OEO circuitry is designed for use with 8B/10B encoded data streams, such as InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, and XAUI standards. Power of 3.3 volt is supplied through a pin (G8) dedicated for this purpose as described in InfiniBand specification version 1.2. Pin G7 is the voltage sense pin, and is tied internally to ground through a 5K ohm resistor.

For more information, visit www.tycoelectronics.com.