JP2014087057A - Connector assembly, system and method for interconnecting one or more parallel optical transceiver modules with system circuit board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To substantially increase the bandwidth of an optical fiber link of an optical communications network.SOLUTION: A connector assembly is provided that mates on one side with an optical transceiver module holder and that electrically connects on the opposite side with an external system circuit board. When the connector assembly is mated with the optical transceiver module holder, a base of a parallel optical transceiver module held in the holder mates with a socket of the connector assembly such that respective arrays of electrical contacts disposed on the base and in the socket come into contact with one another. At least one gearbox IC for performing data rate conversion is mounted on the assembly circuit board. A lower surface of the assembly circuit board has an array of electrical contacts thereon that is in contact with an array of electrical contacts disposed on the surface of the external system circuit board on which the connector assembly is mounted.

Description

  The present invention relates to optical communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector assembly for interconnecting one or more parallel optical transceiver modules with a system circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a system circuit board).

Cross-reference to related applications This application was filed on April 30, 2012, and is filed with US patent application no. 13 / 460,833 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

  In an optical communication system, coupling an optical fiber to an optical communication device (ie, an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver device), and then coupling the device to an electronic system such as an exchange system or processing system Generally required. These connections can be facilitated by modularizing the optical communication device. Such modules include optoelectronic elements, such as one or more light sources (eg, lasers), photosensors (eg, photodiodes), lenses and other optical components, digital signal driver circuits, receiver circuits, and the like. An optical element and a housing in which electronic elements are mounted. Further, the optical communication module generally includes an optical connector that can be coupled to a mating connector at the end of the fiber optic cable. Various configurations of optical communication modules are known.

  In switching systems commonly used in optical communication networks, each optical transceiver module is typically mounted on a circuit board that is interconnected with another circuit board that is part of the switching system backplane. A backplane typically includes a number of circuit boards that are electrically interconnected to each other. In many such switching systems, each circuit board of the backplane has at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mounted thereon and electrically connected thereto. Each ASIC is electrically interconnected with an individual optical transceiver module through conductive traces on an individual circuit board. In the transmit direction, each ASIC conveys an electrical data signal to its individual optical transceiver module, which then transmits the electrical data signal for transmission over an optical fiber connected to the optical transceiver module. Are converted into individual optical data signals.

  In the receive direction, the optical transceiver module receives optical data signals coupled from the individual optical fibers to the module and converts the individual optical data signals into individual electrical data signals. The electrical data signal is then output from the module and received at the individual inputs of the ASIC, which then processes the electrical data signal. Electrical interconnections on the circuit board connect the input and output of each ASIC to the output and input of each individual optical transceiver module, respectively. These electrical interconnections are commonly referred to as lanes.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a known optical communication system 2 for a known switching system. The optical communication system 2 includes a first circuit board 3, an optical transceiver module 4 mounted on the first circuit board 3, a backplane circuit board 5, and an ASIC 6 mounted on the backplane circuit board 5. Four output optical fibers 7 and four input optical fibers 8 are connected to the optical transceiver module 4. In the transmission direction, the ASIC 6 generates four 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) electrical data signals that are output from the ASIC 6 onto four individual output lanes 9 to the optical transceiver module 4. The optical transceiver module 4 then converts the four 10 Gbps electrical data signals into four individual 10 Gbps optical data signals and the ends of the four individual optical fibers 7 for transmission over the optical fiber link. To the optical data signal.

  In the direction of reception, four 10 Gbps optical data signals are coupled to the optical transceiver module 4 from the ends of four individual optical fibers 8, and the optical transceiver module 4 then combines the optical data signals into four 10 Gbps. Convert to electrical data signal. The four 10 Gbps electrical data signals are then output to the four individual inputs of the ASIC 6 via the four individual input lanes 11 and processed by the ASIC 6. Thus, the fiber optic link has a data rate of 40 Gbps in the transmit direction and 40 Gbps in the receive direction. The data rate of the fiber optic link can be increased by increasing the number of optical transceiver modules 4 and ASICs 6 included in the link. For example, when four optical transceiver modules 4 and four ASICs 6 are included in the optical communication system 2, the optical fiber link has a data rate of 160 Gbps in the transmission direction and 160 Gbps in the reception direction.

US Pat. No. 8,047,856

  Larger bandwidth demands often lead to efforts to upgrade optical communication networks to achieve higher data rates. However, by doing so, it is generally necessary to double the number of optical transceiver modules and ASICs used in an optical communication system or replace them with optical transceivers and ASICs operating at higher data rates. . Of course, doubling the number of optical transceiver modules and ASICs used in an optical communication system is a very costly solution. Replacing the ASIC with an ASIC operating at a higher data rate requires a redesign of the ASIC, which is also a very costly solution. To provide a method for significantly increasing the bandwidth of an optical fiber link in an optical communication network without having to double the number of optical transceiver modules and ASICs utilized and without having to redesign the ASIC. desirable.

  Embodiments of the invention relate to a connector assembly, an optical communication system incorporating the connector assembly, and a method. The connector assembly is configured to interconnect one or more parallel optical transceiver modules with the circuit board of the system. The connector assembly includes an assembly housing, an assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing, and at least a first gearbox integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the assembly circuit board for performing data rate conversion.

  The assembly housing has at least a first socket recess formed in an upper surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module. The first socket recess has a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module. The assembly circuit board has an upper surface and a lower surface. The assembly housing covers the top surface of the assembly circuit board except where the socket recess (es) are formed on the top surface of the assembly housing. A first region on the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess, and at least the first socket is disposed in the exposed first region. The first socket is electrically connected to a second array of electrical contacts disposed on the lower surface of the base when the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module is received in the first socket recess. Includes a first array of contacts.

  The lower surface of the assembly circuit board has electrical contacts disposed thereon for contacting a fourth array of electrical contacts disposed on the upper surface of the system circuit board when the connector assembly is attached to the upper surface of the system circuit board. Having a third array. The first gearbox IC is mounted on the assembly circuit board and electrically connected. A first gearbox IC is electrically connected to the first array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board.

  The system includes a connector assembly mounted on and electrically connected to a system circuit board. The system circuit board has at least a first array of electrical contacts disposed on the top surface of the system circuit board. At least a first ASIC is mounted on the system circuit board and electrically connected thereto. The connector assembly includes an assembly housing and an assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing. The assembly housing has at least a first socket recess formed in an upper surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module. A first region on the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess, and the first socket is disposed in the exposed first region. The first socket includes a second array of electrical contacts. The assembly circuit board has a third array of electrical contacts disposed on a lower surface thereof, and the third array is electrically connected to the first array disposed on the system circuit board.

  The system parallel optical transceiver module holder is mechanically coupled to the assembly housing. The module holder holds at least the first parallel optical transceiver module such that the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module is disposed in the first socket recess. A fourth array of electrical contacts disposed on the bottom surface of the base contacts the second array of electrical contacts in the first socket. At least a first gearbox IC for performing data rate conversion is mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board. The first gearbox IC is electrically connected to a second array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board.

  The method includes providing a system circuit board having at least a first ASIC mounted on a surface and attaching a connector assembly to the surface of the system circuit board. The system circuit board has a first array of electrical contacts disposed on its surface. The connector assembly includes an assembly housing and an assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing. The assembly circuit board has a second array of electrical contacts disposed on a lower surface thereof, and the second array of electrical contacts contacts the first array of electrical contacts on the system circuit board. The assembly housing has at least a first socket recess formed in an upper surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module. A first region on the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess, and the first socket is disposed in the exposed first region. The first socket includes a third array of electrical contacts.

  A parallel optical transceiver module holder is mechanically coupled to the assembly housing. The module holder holds at least the first parallel optical transceiver module such that the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module is disposed in the first socket recess. A fourth array of electrical contacts disposed on the lower surface of the base contacts the third array of electrical contacts in the first socket. A first gearbox IC for performing data rate conversion is mounted on the assembly circuit board and electrically connected. The first gearbox IC is electrically connected to the third array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board.

  These and other features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail below in connection with the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings.

  In accordance with the present invention, the bandwidth of optical fiber links in an optical communication network is significantly increased without having to double the number of optical transceiver modules and ASICs utilized and without having to redesign the ASICs. It becomes possible.

1 is a block diagram of a known optical communication system for a known switching system. 1 is a block diagram of an optical communication system located at one end of a high speed fiber optic link, according to an illustrative or exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connector assembly, a parallel optical transceiver module holder, and a heat sink device, according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the connector assembly shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the connector assembly shown in FIG. 3. 4B is a top perspective view of the assembly circuit board of the connector assembly shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIG. FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the module holder shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the module holder shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the connector assembly, the module holder, and the heat sink device illustrated in FIG. 3 are mechanically coupled together.

  In accordance with the exemplary embodiments described herein, a connector assembly is provided that is configured to mate with an optical transceiver module holder on one side and electrically connect to an external system circuit board on the opposite side. . The connector assembly includes an assembly housing, an assembly circuit board disposed within the housing, at least one socket disposed on an upper surface of the assembly circuit board, and one or more of the modular circuit boards mounted on the upper surface of the assembly circuit board. Having at least one gearbox IC electrically interconnected with the socket via the interconnect layer; When the connector assembly is mated with the holder, the base of the parallel optical transceiver module held in the holder is mated with the socket of the connector assembly. The socket and base have an individual array of electrical contacts that contact each other when the base mates with the socket. The lower surface of the assembly circuit board has an array of electrical contacts thereon, and when the connector assembly is attached to an external system circuit board, the individual electrical contacts of the array disposed on the lower surface of the assembly circuit board are external In contact with the individual electrical contacts of the array disposed on the top surface of the system board.

  The gearbox IC is compatible with current ASIC designs currently used for fiber optic links. When the connector assembly and the optical transceiver module holder are fitted together and mounted on a system circuit board external to the optical communication system, the gear box IC allows the optical communication system to connect the known optical fiber link described above. It is possible to achieve a data rate that is at least twice the data rate. Thus, the data rate of fiber optic links increases dramatically without the need to redesign the ASICs currently used for fiber optic links. The gearbox IC is configured to function in connection with one or more ASICs of current ASIC design and to function in connection with a high speed parallel optical transceiver module.

  Generally, the connector assembly and module holder are mated together before being shipped to the customer, or shipped to the customer as separate parts and then mated together by the customer. The customer installs the mated assembly on the customer's system circuit board. One advantage of including a gearbox IC in the connector assembly is that the customer needs to mount the gearbox IC on the customer's system circuit board and make the necessary electrical connections between the system circuit board and the gearbox IC. It is to remove. This reduces the wiring requirements of the system circuit board. Further, including a gearbox IC in the connector assembly allows the length of the electrical connection between the gearbox IC and the optical transceiver module to be kept relatively short, which achieves high signal integrity. Very important to. Achieving high signal integrity is important in achieving high data rates.

  In the transmit direction, the gearbox IC receives N lanes of electrical data signals from one or more ASICs (where each electrical data signal has a data rate of X Gbps) and N / 2 Output electrical data signals for the lanes (where each electrical data signal has a data rate of 2X Gbps), where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2 and X is a positive number greater than or equal to 1 . The high speed parallel optical transceiver module receives N / 2 electrical data signals output from the gearbox IC, generates N / 2 individual optical data signals, and converts the optical data signals into N / 2 optical data signals. In this case, each optical data signal has a data rate of 2X.

  In the receive direction, the high speed parallel optical transceiver module receives N / 2 optical data signals via N / 2 optical fibers, converts them into N / 2 individual electrical data signals, and The data signal has a data rate of 2X Gbps. N / 2 electrical data signals are then received at individual inputs of the gearbox IC via N / 2 lanes, and the gearbox IC converts the N / 2 electrical data signals into N electrical data. Convert to signals (each with a data rate of X). The gearbox IC then outputs N electrical data signals to N lanes for supply to the individual inputs of the ASIC (s). The ASIC (s) then processes the electrical data signal in the usual way.

  For example, if the total number of data lanes output from all ASICs is equal to 4 (ie, N = 4) and each electrical data signal has a data rate of 10.3125 Gbps (ie, X = 10), then the gearbox IC Outputs two lane electrical data signals (each electrical data signal has a data rate of 20.625 Gbps). As is common in the optical communications industry, a data rate of 10.3125 Gbps is referred to herein simply as 10 Gbps, and a data rate of 20.625 Gbps is referred to herein simply as 20 Gbps. The high-speed optical transceiver module converts each electrical data signal into an optical data signal having the same data rate as the electrical data signal, and outputs the optical data signal to an optical fiber. In the receive direction, the optical transceiver module receives two optical data signals (each having a data rate of 20 Gbps) and converts them into two electrical data signals (each having a data rate of 20 Gbps). The optical data signals are supplied to the gearbox IC via two lanes, which convert them into four electrical data signals (each having a data rate of 10 Gbps). The four 10 Gbps electrical data signals are then provided to the ASIC via four individual lanes, which process the electrical data signals in the usual manner.

  Thus, by incorporating a gearbox IC into an optical communication system, one or more ASICs of an existing design achieve an optical fiber link data rate that is at least twice that of a conventional optical fiber link. Can be used with other high-speed optical transceiver modules. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will now be described in connection with the illustrative or exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate similar elements or features.

  FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an optical communication system 20 located at one end of a high speed fiber optic link, according to an illustrative or exemplary embodiment of the invention. The optical communication system 20 includes a first circuit board 22, a gear box IC 30 electrically connected to the first circuit board 22, a high-speed optical transceiver module 40 electrically connected to the first circuit board 22, and a backplane circuit board 42. And one or more ASICs 50 mounted and electrically connected to the backplane circuit board 42. In accordance with this exemplary embodiment, one or more ASICs 50 correspond to two of the ASICs 6 shown in FIG. 1, but one or more ASICs 50 may be a single ASIC or more than two ASICs. can do. To simplify the example diagram, one or more ASICs 50 are represented as a single block in the block diagram of FIG.

  In accordance with the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, N = 8 and X = 10 Gbps. Accordingly, there are eight output lanes 51 that interconnect the ASIC 50 and the gearbox IC 30 and eight input lanes 52 that interconnect the ASIC 50 and the gearbox IC 30. There are four output lanes 53 interconnecting the gearbox IC 30 and the optical transceiver module 40, and four input lanes 54 interconnecting the optical transceiver module 40 and the gearbox IC 30. There are four output optical fibers 55 and four input optical fibers 56 that are optically and mechanically coupled to the optical transceiver module 40.

  In the transmission direction, eight 10 Gbps electrical data signals are output from the ASIC 50 to the gearbox IC 30 via the output lane 51. The gear box IC 30 converts the eight 10 Gbps electrical data signals into four 20 Gbps electrical data signals and outputs the four 20 Gbps electrical data signals to the optical transceiver module 40 through the output lane 53.

  The optical transceiver module 40 converts each 20 Gbps electrical data signal into a 20 Gbps optical data signal and outputs the optical data signal to the output optical fiber 55. In the receiving direction, the optical transceiver module 40 receives four 20 Gbps optical data signals output from the ends of the four input optical fibers 56 and converts them into four 20 Gbps electrical data signals. Then, four 20 Gbps electrical data signals are supplied to the gear box IC 30 via the four input lanes 54, and the gear box IC 30 converts the four 20 Gbps electrical data signals into eight 10 Gbps electrical data signals. Eight 10 Gbps electrical data signals are then provided to the ASIC 50 via the eight input lanes 52, and the ASIC 50 performs 10 Gbps electrical data in a known manner in which the ASIC 6 shown in FIG. 1 processes the 10 Gbps electrical data signal. Process the signal.

  On the backplane side of the ASIC 50, other ASICs 50 and / or other gearbox ICs 30 of other optical communication systems that are identical to the optical communication system 20 and are located in the same switching system or in other switching systems. There are typically eight 10 Gbps input lanes 57 and eight 10 Gbps output lanes 58 to communicate with the. In addition, another example of a gearbox IC 30 may be added on the backplane side to double the data rate of electrical data signals transmitted between the ASICs 50 on the backplane.

  The present invention is not limited to ASIC 50, gearbox IC 30, or optical transceiver module 40 having any particular configuration, any particular number of input and output lanes, or any particular number of channels. For example, the gearbox IC 30 functions as an ASIC that outputs data via more lanes than the ASIC 50 and functions on one side, and has more channels than the optical transceiver module 40 on the other side. It can be configured to connect and function.

  Now, exemplary embodiments of the connector assembly and optical transceiver module holder will be described in connection with FIGS. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector assembly 100, the parallel optical transceiver module holder 120, and the heat sink device 140. 4A and 4B show top and bottom perspective views of the connector assembly 100 shown in FIG. 3, respectively. FIG. 5 shows a top perspective view of the assembly circuit board 110 of the connector assembly 100 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. 6A and 6B respectively show a top and bottom perspective view of the module holder 120 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the connector assembly 100, the module holder 120 and the heat sink device 140 shown in FIG. 3 mechanically coupled together. The connector assembly 100, the holder 120, and the heat sink device 140 will now be described with reference to FIGS.

  Connector assembly 100 and holder 120 are similar in some respects to the connector assembly and holder disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,053,077, assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One of the important differences between the connector assembly disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the connector assembly 100 of the present invention is that two gears on which an assembly circuit board 110 of the connector assembly 100 is mounted and electrically connected thereto are provided. The box IC 101 (FIG. 5). Each gearbox IC 101 (FIG. 5) is connected to an individual parallel light through an individual socket 102 (FIGS. 4A and 5) of the connector assembly 100 and through an interconnect layer of the assembly circuit board 110 (FIG. 5). Electrically interconnected to transceiver module 121 (FIGS. 6A and 6B).

  The gearbox IC 101 provides the same functionality as the gearbox IC 30 described above with respect to FIG. 2, but according to this exemplary embodiment, each of the gearbox ICs 101 is input from the ASIC to the gearbox IC 101 12. The 10 Gbps electrical lanes are converted into six 20 Gbps electrical lanes to be output to the individual optical transceiver modules 121, and the 6 20 Gbps electrical lanes input from the individual optical transceiver modules 121 to the gearbox IC 101 are converted into , Convert to 12 10 Gbps electrical lanes to be output from the gearbox IC 101 to the ASIC. Thus, according to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, each optical transceiver module 121 is a parallel optical transceiver module having six transmit channels and six receive channels. Each optical transceiver module 121 is connected to the end of an individual fiber optic ribbon cable 122 (FIG. 3) having six transmitting and six receiving optical fibers 123 (FIG. 7). According to an exemplary embodiment, the opposite end of the fiber optic ribbon cable 122 is connected to an optical connector 127, which is configured to be secured to a front panel (not shown).

  Alternatively, one of the optical transceiver modules 121 can have 12 transmit channels and the other optical transceiver module 121 can have 12 receive channels, in which case the fiber optic ribbon cable 122 One has 12 transmission optical fibers 123, and the other optical fiber ribbon cable 122 has 12 reception optical fibers 123. In either case, each optical fiber 123 transmits a 20 Gbps optical data signal.

  It should be noted that as used herein, the terms “optical transceiver module” and “optical communication module” mean either: That is, (1) an optical transmitter module having an optical transmission function but not an optical reception function, (2) an optical receiver module having an optical reception function but no optical transmission function, and ( 3) An optical transceiver module having both an optical reception function and an optical transmission function.

  The connector assembly 100 (FIGS. 4A and 4B) includes an assembly housing 103 and an assembly circuit board 110. The housing 103 has a generally rectangular flat tip-like shape defined by a recessed wall portion 104 that surrounds or surrounds the inner portion 105 of the assembly housing 103. Inner portion 105 defines individual socket recesses in which individual arrays 102a of electrical contacts mounted on top surface 110a of assembly circuit board 110 (FIG. 5) are exposed to form individual sockets 102. To do.

  According to an exemplary embodiment, the array of electrical contacts 102a is an array of resilient electrical contacts of a type known in the art such as a LGA (Landing Grid Array). Each contact of the array 102a includes a spring finger 102a 'that extends above the top surface 110a of the assembly circuit board 110 at an acute angle with the top surface 110a. That is, the base or proximal portion (proximal portion) of each spring finger 102a ′ is on the upper surface 110a of the assembly circuit board 110, and the distal portion of each spring finger 102a ′ forms an acute angle with the upper surface 110a. It floats on the upper surface 110a. In the exemplary embodiment, the resilient contacts 102a 'of the array 102a have the structure described above, but in other embodiments, the array of resilient conductive contacts can have any other suitable structure. For example, in other embodiments, the resilient portion may have a coiled or other curved portion and extend away from the top surface 110a substantially perpendicular rather than at an acute angle.

  In accordance with this exemplary embodiment, lower surface 110b (FIG. 4B) of assembly circuit board 110 has a ball grid array (BGA) 106 or similar array of electrical contacts 106a. Although not shown for clarity, an electrical path is provided through assembly circuit board 110 to electrically connect electrical contacts (balls) 106a of BGA 106 to electrical contacts 102a 'of array 102a.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the shape of the base portion 121a of the transceiver module 121 is that of the inner portion 105 (FIG. 4A) of the housing 103 that defines the socket recess. Corresponds to or substantially fits the shape. As shown in FIG. 7, when the holder 120 mates with the connector assembly 100, the base 121a of the transceiver module 121 fits within individual socket recesses defined by the inner portion 105 (FIG. 4A). For example, a friction fit may exist between the base 121 a and the inner portion 105 of the transceiver module 121 that helps to secure or stabilize the transceiver module 121 and connector assembly 100 in this mated position.

  Also, in the mating position shown in FIG. 7, the electrical contacts 102a ′ of the array 102a of the socket 102 are caused by individual conductive balls 124a of the BGA 124 (FIG. 6B) disposed on the lower surface of the base 121a of the transceiver module 121. , Elastically deflect or displace to promote good electrical contact.

  Means for holding the transceiver module 121 and connector assembly 110 in the mated position, such as a screwed fastening system, are provided to counter the elastic or spring force exerted by the resilient electrical contact 102a '. In particular, screw 125 (FIGS. 6A and 6B) extends through hole 126 (FIG. 6B) formed in holder 120 and engages with screw hole 107 (FIG. 4A) formed in assembly housing 103. To do. In this embodiment, the retention mechanism consists of screws and screw holes, but any other suitable mechanism may be used for this purpose.

  The present invention is not limited with respect to the type or configuration of the parallel optical transceiver module 121 held in the holder 120 and mating with the socket 102 of the connector assembly 100. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art in view of the description provided herein, various known parallel optical transceiver modules are suitable for use with the present invention.

  Once the connector assembly 110, holder 120, and heat sink device 140 are mechanically coupled together, as shown in FIG. 7, using conventional surface mount technology (SMT) soldering techniques. The electrical contacts 106a of the BGA 106 disposed on the lower surface 110a of the assembly circuit board 110 (FIG. 4B) are corresponding pads (FIG. 2) disposed on the upper surface of a system circuit board, such as the system circuit board 42 illustrated in FIG. (Not shown). Epoxy beads (not shown), commonly referred to as “underfill”, are added around the periphery of the connector assembly 100 to promote mechanical stability between the connector assembly 100 and the system circuit board 42. be able to.

  As shown in FIG. 5, additional electrical circuits (components) 112 may be mounted on the top surface 110 a of the assembly circuit board 110. Such circuitry can include any suitable active or passive component such as capacitors and IC chips. The electrical circuit 112 may be electrically coupled to the BGA 106 (FIG. 4B) and to the electrical contacts 102a ′ (FIG. 4A) via one or more interconnect layers of the assembly circuit board 110. The circuit 112 may be any suitable function of the type conventionally implemented by the optical transceiver module itself or by circuitry connected to the optical transceiver module (eg, power supply decoupling, signal equalization, clock data recovery, and multi-level encoding) ).

  Thus, some of the functions associated with transceivers that may be conventionally performed in an optical transceiver module or in an electronic system (not shown) to which a conventional optical transceiver module is connected (e.g., an exchange system or processing system) are: Instead, it may be implemented with connector assembly 100. That is, the connector assembly 100 can serve not only as an electrical connector, but also as an electronic subsystem for the optical transceiver module 121 and / or other system components that are electrically connected to the system circuit board 142.

  One or more interconnect layers of assembly circuit board 110 may be used to route signals from any electrical contact 102a ′ (FIG. 4A) to any ball contact 106a (FIG. 4B) of BGA 106. . Thus, in some cases, the electrical contact 102a 'may be directly connected to the ball contact 106a disposed thereunder by a vertical conductive path (not shown) in the interconnect layer, but the interconnect layer may be an assembly circuit. Also included are horizontal conductive paths (ie, circuit traces) that route signals to different locations on substrate 110 (eg, I / O pads of gearbox IC 101 (FIG. 5)). Thus, electrical signals are transmitted between the ASIC 50 (FIG. 2) and the gear box IC 101, and between the gear box IC 101 and the optical transceiver module 121.

  It should be noted that illustrative or exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to the drawings to illustrate the principles and concepts of the invention. One of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the description provided herein, is that the present invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments, and that many modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the invention. Will understand. For example, the present invention relates to the number of gearbox ICs included in the connector assembly, the number of optical transceiver modules fitted with the connector assembly, the shape of the connector assembly, the holder or the heat sink device, the system circuit board to which the connector assembly is attached, and the like. Not limited.

20 Optical communication systems
30, 101 Gearbox IC
40, 121 parallel optical transceiver module
42 System circuit board
50 ASIC
100 connector assembly
102 socket
102a 'electrical contact
106, 124 BGA
106a, 124a conductive balls
103 Assembly housing
110 Assembly circuit board
120 Parallel optical transceiver module holder
121a base
122 optical fiber ribbon cable
127 Optical connector
140 Heat sink device

Claims (21)

A connector assembly for interconnecting one or more parallel optical transceiver modules with a system circuit board comprising:
At least a first socket recess formed in an upper surface for receiving a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module, wherein the first socket recess is in the shape of the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module; An assembly housing having a substantially corresponding shape;
An assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing and having an upper surface and a lower surface, the assembly housing of the assembly circuit board except where the at least first socket recess is formed on the upper surface of the assembly housing. Covering the top surface, a first region of the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess, and at least a first socket is disposed in the exposed first region of the top surface of the assembly circuit board. The first socket is in electrical contact with a second array of electrical contacts disposed on a lower surface of the base when the base of the first parallel optical transceiver module is received in the first socket recess. Including a first array of electrical contacts for carrying out the assembly, the lower surface of the assembly circuit board comprising: A third array of electrical contacts disposed thereon for contacting a fourth array of electrical contacts disposed on the top surface of the system circuit board when the connector assembly is attached to the top surface of the system circuit board An assembly circuit board,
At least a first gearbox integrated circuit (IC) mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board for performing data rate conversion;
The connector assembly, wherein the first gearbox IC is electrically connected to the first array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board. At least a second socket recess formed in an upper surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of a second parallel optical transceiver module, wherein the second socket recess is of the second parallel optical transceiver module. A second region of the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the second socket recess, and at least a second socket is formed on the top surface of the assembly circuit board. The second parallel optical transceiver module is disposed in the exposed second region, and the second socket is disposed when the base of the second parallel optical transceiver module is received in the second socket recess. A fifth array of electrical contacts for making electrical contact with a sixth array of electrical contacts disposed on the lower surface of the base of the And at least a second socket recess,
Further comprising at least a second gearbox IC mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board for performing data rate conversion;
The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the second gearbox IC is electrically connected to the fifth array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board.   The connector assembly of claim 2, wherein the first array of electrical contacts is an LGA and the second array of electrical contacts is a ball grid array (BGA).   The connector assembly of claim 3, wherein the third array of electrical contacts is a BGA.   The connector assembly of claim 4, wherein the fifth array of electrical contacts is an LGA and the sixth array of electrical contacts is a BGA.   The first and second gearbox ICs provide first and second N electrical data signals having a data rate of X gigabits per second (Gpbs) input from the system circuit board to the assembly circuit board. Each set is configured to convert to a first and second set of N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2X Gbps to be output to the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules, respectively. And the first and second gearbox ICs receive N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2 × Gbps input from the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules to the assembly circuit board. The first and second sets are respectively a first and a second set of N electrical data signals having a data rate of X Gbps to be output to the system circuit board. Is configured to convert each of the second set, N is a positive integer of 2 or more, X is a number of 1 or more positive, the connector assembly according to claim 2. An optical communication system,
A system circuit board having at least a first array of electrical contacts disposed on a top surface;
At least a first application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mounted on and electrically connected to the system circuit board;
A connector assembly mounted on the system circuit board, the connector assembly including an assembly housing and an assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing, wherein the assembly housing is a base of a first parallel optical transceiver module At least a first socket recess formed in the upper surface of the assembly housing to receive a first socket, wherein a first region of the upper surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess. Is disposed in the exposed first region of the top surface of the assembly circuit board, the first socket includes a second array of electrical contacts, and the assembly circuit board is disposed on a bottom surface thereof. A third array of contacts, wherein the third array is Is electrically connected to the first array, and the connector assembly,
A parallel optical transceiver module holder mechanically coupled to the assembly housing, wherein the module holder is at least such that a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module is disposed in the first socket recess. A parallel optical transceiver that holds the first parallel optical transceiver module and that a fourth array of electrical contacts disposed on a lower surface of the base contacts the second array of electrical contacts of the first socket. A module holder;
At least a first gearbox integrated circuit (IC) mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board for performing data rate conversion;
An optical communication system, wherein the first gearbox IC is electrically connected to the second array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board. At least a second socket recess formed in an upper surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of a second parallel optical transceiver module, the module holder holding at least the second parallel optical transceiver module. A second region of the upper surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the second socket recess, and at least a second socket is disposed in the exposed second region of the upper surface of the assembly circuit board; Two sockets include a fifth array of electrical contacts, and the base of the second parallel optical transceiver module is disposed on the underside of the base of the second parallel optical transceiver module. Disposed in the second socket recess to contact a sixth array of electrical contacts It is, at least a second socket recess,
Further comprising at least a second gearbox IC mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board for performing data rate conversion;
The optical communication system of claim 7, wherein the second gearbox IC is electrically connected to the fifth array of electrical contacts via electrical traces on the assembly circuit board.   9. The optical communication system according to claim 8, wherein the second array of electrical contacts is an LGA and the fourth array of electrical contacts is a ball grid array (BGA).   The optical communication system according to claim 9, wherein the third array of electrical contacts is a BGA.   The optical communication system according to claim 10, wherein the fifth array of electrical contacts is an LGA and the sixth array of electrical contacts is a BGA.   The first and second gearbox ICs provide first and second N electrical data signals having a data rate of X gigabits per second (Gpbs) input from the system circuit board to the assembly circuit board. Each set is configured to convert to a first and second set of N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2X Gbps to be output to the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules, respectively. And the first and second gearbox ICs receive N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2 × Gbps input from the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules to the assembly circuit board. The first and second sets are respectively a first and a second set of N electrical data signals having a data rate of X Gbps to be output to the system circuit board. Is configured to convert each of the second set, N is a positive integer of 2 or more, X is a number of 1 or more positive, the optical communication system of claim 8.   The optical communication system according to claim 8, further comprising a heat sink device mechanically coupled to the module holder. A method for using a connector assembly to electrically connect one or more parallel optical transceiver modules to a system circuit board, comprising:
Providing the system circuit board, the system circuit board having at least a first application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mounted on a surface of the system circuit board and electrically connected to the system circuit board; A system circuit board having a first array of electrical contacts disposed on a surface thereof;
A connector assembly is attached to a surface of the system circuit board, the connector assembly including an assembly housing and an assembly circuit board attached to the assembly housing, the assembly circuit board being disposed on a lower surface thereof, the system circuit board A second array of electrical contacts in contact with the first array of electrical contacts, wherein the assembly housing is formed on an upper surface of the assembly housing to receive a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module Having at least a first socket recess, a first region of the top surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the first socket recess, and a first socket is the exposed first of the top surface of the assembly circuit board. In which the first socket is A third array of air contacts, wherein a parallel optical transceiver module holder is mechanically coupled to the assembly housing, the module holder having a base of the first parallel optical transceiver module within the first socket recess. A fourth array of electrical contacts that holds at least the first parallel optical transceiver module and is disposed on a lower surface of the base, such that a third array of electrical contacts in the first socket And at least a first gearbox integrated circuit (IC) for performing data rate conversion is mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board, the first gearbox IC being an electrical trace of the assembly circuit board Through a third array of electrical contacts.   At least a second socket recess is formed in the top surface of the assembly housing for receiving a base of a second parallel optical transceiver module, and the module holder holds at least the second parallel optical transceiver module; A second region of the upper surface of the assembly circuit board is exposed through the second socket recess, and at least a second socket is disposed in the exposed second region of the upper surface of the assembly circuit board, and the second A socket includes a fifth array of electrical contacts, and the base of the second parallel optical transceiver module is an electrical circuit wherein the fifth array of electrical contacts is disposed on a lower surface of the base of the second parallel optical transceiver module. Disposed in the second socket recess to contact the sixth array of contacts. At least a second gear box IC for performing data rate conversion is mounted on and electrically connected to the assembly circuit board, and the second gear box IC is connected via an electrical trace of the assembly circuit board. The method of claim 14, wherein the method is electrically connected to the fifth array of electrical contacts.   The method of claim 15, wherein the third array of electrical contacts is an LGA and the fourth array of electrical contacts is a ball grid array (BGA).   The method of claim 16, wherein the second array of electrical contacts is a BGA.   The method of claim 17, wherein the fifth array of electrical contacts is LGA and the sixth array of electrical contacts is BGA.   19. The method of claim 18, further comprising soldering individual electrical contacts of the first and second arrays of electrical contacts to each other during the step of attaching the connector assembly to the surface of the system circuit board. .   The first and second gearbox ICs provide first and second N electrical data signals having a data rate of X gigabits per second (Gpbs) input from the system circuit board to the assembly circuit board. Each set is configured to convert to a first and second set of N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2X Gbps to be output to the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules, respectively. And the first and second gearbox ICs receive N / 2 electrical data signals having a data rate of 2 × Gbps input from the first and second parallel optical transceiver modules to the assembly circuit board. The first and second sets are respectively a first and a second set of N electrical data signals having a data rate of X Gbps to be output to the system circuit board. Is configured to convert each of the second set, N is a positive integer of 2 or more, X is a number of 1 or more positive method of claim 15.   The method of claim 15, further comprising mechanically coupling a heat sink device to the module holder.