JPH10282371A - Optical data bus and signal processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve transfer efficiency and restrict the dispersion of the emission quantity of light by providing a diffusing means with plural cylindrical faces in array at one edge to diffuse injected light into an optical data bus. SOLUTION: An optical data bus 10 has a diffusing means 19 with plural sectionally convex lens shaped cylindrical faces 12 in array at the edge 11a of a signal light injection part 11. The diffusing means 19 functions to diffuse an injected signal light 15 into the light transfer layer 13 of an optical data bus 10 mainbody. The cylindrical faces 12 can be formed only in an area where the signal light 15 is actually injected, not necessarily formed throughout the edge 11a. In this way, the signal light, which goes out of the light transfer layer 13, out of the signal lights 15 is minimized to provide optical data with high transfer efficiency and less dispersion of the emission quantity of light at the edge of a signal light emission part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped optical data bus for transmitting an optical signal, and a signal processing device for performing signal processing including transmission and reception of data using the optical data bus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI), circuit functions of circuit boards (daughter boards) used in data processing systems have been greatly increased. As the number of signal connections to each circuit board increases as circuit functions increase, a data bus board (mother board) that connects each circuit board (daughter board) with a bus structure requires a large number of connectors and connection lines. Parallel architecture has been adopted. The operation speed of the parallel bus has been improved by increasing the number of connection lines and increasing the parallelism by miniaturization.However, the processing speed of the system has been reduced due to the signal delay caused by the capacitance between connection lines and the connection line resistance. It may be limited by the operating speed of the bus. In addition, electromagnetic noise (E
MI: Electromagnetic Interf
issue also becomes a major constraint on improving the processing speed of the system.

In order to solve such a problem and improve the operation speed of the parallel bus, use of an in-system optical connection technique called optical interconnection has been studied. For an overview of optical interconnection technology, see "Tadaji Uchida, 9th Circuit Packaging Academic Conference, 15C01, p.
p. 201 to 202 ”and“ H. Tomimiuro et
al. , “Packaging Technology”
for Optical Interconnect
s ", IEEE Tokyo No. 33, pp. 81
-86, 1994], Osamu Wada, Electronics 19
April 93, pp. 52-55 ", various forms of technology have been proposed depending on the configuration of the system.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the various types of optical interconnection technologies that have been proposed in the past,
No. 41042 discloses an example in which an optical data transmission method using a high-speed, high-sensitivity light-emitting / light-receiving device is applied to a data bus, in which a light-emitting / light-receiving device is provided on both front and back surfaces of each circuit board. A serial optical data bus for loop transmission between circuit boards has been proposed in which light emitting / receiving devices on adjacent circuit boards incorporated in a system frame are spatially coupled by light. In this method, signal light sent from a certain circuit board is subjected to optical / electrical conversion on an adjacent circuit board, and then electrical / optical conversion on this circuit board, and then to an adjacent circuit board. Each circuit board is sequentially arranged in series such as sending out a signal light, and optical / electric conversion and electric / electrical conversion are performed on each circuit board.
The light is transmitted between all the circuit boards incorporated in the system frame while repeating the light conversion. For this reason, the signal transmission speed depends on the optical / electrical conversion speed and the electrical / optical conversion speed of the light receiving / light emitting device arranged on each circuit board, and at the same time is restricted. In addition, since data transmission between each circuit board uses optical coupling via a free space by a light receiving / light emitting device arranged on each circuit board, it is arranged on both front and back sides of an adjacent circuit board. It is necessary that the light emitting / receiving devices are optically aligned and all the circuit boards are optically coupled. Further, since the respective circuit boards are connected via a free space, interference (crosstalk) between adjacent optical data transmission lines occurs, and poor data transmission is expected. Also,
It is also anticipated that data transmission failure will occur due to the diffusion of the signal light due to the environment in the system frame, such as dust. Furthermore, since the circuit boards are arranged in series, if any one of the boards is removed, the connection will be interrupted there. Therefore, an extra circuit board is required to compensate for the disconnection. That is, there is a problem that the circuit board cannot be freely attached and detached, and the number of circuit boards is fixed.

In addition to these techniques, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-19 / 1986 discloses a technique for transmitting data between circuit boards using free space.
Japanese Patent No. 6210 has a plate having two parallel surfaces and opposed to a light source, and optically couples between circuit boards via an optical path constituted by a diffraction grating and a reflective element arranged on the plate surface. Is disclosed. In this method, light emitted from one point can be transmitted to only one fixed point, and there is a problem that all circuit boards cannot be exhaustively connected like an electric bus. In addition, since a free space is used, a complicated optical system is required, and it is difficult to perform positioning. For example, interference (crosstalk) between adjacent optical transmission lines due to a displacement of an optical element occurs. Poor data transmission is expected. Furthermore, since the connection information between circuit boards is determined by the diffraction grating and the reflective element arranged on the plate surface, there are various problems such that the circuit board cannot be freely inserted and removed and the expandability is low.

As means for solving these problems, a light diffusion portion for diffusing an incident signal light is provided on a sheet-shaped optical data bus, and the signal light diffused by the light diffusion portion is transmitted to all the light transmission layers in the optical transmission layer. An optical data bus system in which light is propagated in a direction is conceivable. Next, an example of such an optical data bus will be described. FIGS. 12A and 12B are a cross-sectional view and a plan view, respectively, showing how signal light is diffused when a light diffusion section is provided on a sheet-shaped optical data bus.

As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a signal light 95 incident on the optical data bus 90 from a direction intersecting a surface 93 a of the optical transmission layer 93 passes through the optical transmission layer 93. The light diffusion portion 92 is provided on the back surface 93b of the light transmission layer that reaches through the light. The signal light 95 that has reached the light diffusion unit 92 is diffused by the light diffusion unit 92 at a wide angle. In this optical data bus, it is necessary to align the signal light 95 emitted from the light emitting element of the circuit board of the connection partner with the circuit board so that the signal light 95 reaches the light diffusion unit 92.
As shown in FIG. 12B, by setting the area of the light diffusion unit 92 to a fixed size, the alignment can be easily performed. Further, the signal light 95b is diffused at a wide angle by the light diffusing unit 92 and the edge 94 on the signal light emitting unit 94 side is formed.
The optical data bus 90 can be optically connected to the plurality of circuit boards by disposing the light receiving elements of the plurality of circuit boards facing each other along the edge 94a.

As described above, since the optical data bus can be easily aligned with the circuit board to be connected, and the optical data bus can be optically connected to a plurality of circuit boards, the optical data bus can be optically connected. The bus and the circuit board can be freely replaced with each other, and a highly scalable and highly flexible system can be constructed. In addition, this optical data bus has an advantage that signal light does not propagate in a space but in an optical transmission layer, so that it is not affected by environmental conditions such as dust. Further, the optical alignment with the circuit board of the connection partner does not require strictness, so that it has the advantage of being resistant to temperature changes and the like.

However, in this optical data bus, since the signal light is diffused in all directions on average, the diffused signal light does not satisfy the condition of total reflection as shown by a broken line in FIG. The signal light 95a jumps out of the light transmission layer 93 to the outside. Assuming a perfect diffusion surface when the critical condition of total reflection is 45 degrees, the loss of signal light is 、, but when the surface is not a perfect diffusion surface, the loss of light is を. Cross over. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12B, of the signal light diffused by the light diffusion unit 92, only the signal light 95b diffused in the fan-shaped direction hatched does not reach the signal light emission unit 94. The signal light 95c diffused in the direction is wasted, and the utilization efficiency of the signal light is further reduced to a fraction. Therefore, the intensity of the signal light reaching the signal light emitting unit 94 of the optical data bus is weakened,
There is a problem in achieving high speed and low power consumption of the signal processing device. Although the signal light is diffused over the entire edge 94a of the optical data bus on the side of the signal light emitting portion 94, the amount of signal light in the width W direction of the optical data bus at the edge 4a varies. There is a problem in that the amount of light received between the plurality of light receiving elements on the circuit board side of the connection partner that is arranged to face the edge 94a on the signal light emitting portion 94 side of the bus varies.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an optical data bus having a high signal light transmission efficiency and a small variation in the amount of emitted light at the edge on the signal light emitting portion side, and a signal processing device using the optical data bus. The purpose is to provide.

[0011]

An optical data bus according to the present invention that achieves the above object has a signal light incident portion for receiving signal light along one edge and an opposite side to the one edge. Along the edge of the signal light emitting portion responsible for emitting the signal light,
A sheet-shaped optical data bus that propagates signal light incident from the signal light incident portion and emits the signal light from the signal light emitting portion,
At one end, there is provided a diffusing means having a plurality of cylindrical surfaces arranged to diffuse the incident signal light into the optical data bus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a signal processing apparatus comprising: a base; a signal light emitting end for emitting signal light; and a circuit for generating a signal to be carried by the signal light emitted from the signal light emitting end. A plurality of circuit boards on which at least one of a signal light incident end for receiving signal light and a circuit for performing signal processing based on a signal carried by the signal light incident from the signal light incident end is mounted; Along the edge,
A signal light incident portion that is responsible for the incidence of the signal light, and a signal light emitting portion that is responsible for emitting the signal light along an edge opposite to the one edge, and is incident from the signal light incident portion. A sheet-like optical data bus which propagates signal light and emits from the signal light emitting portion, wherein a plurality of cylindrical surfaces are arranged at one end edge of the optical data bus to diffuse incident signal light into the inside of the optical data bus. An optical data bus having a diffusing means,
And fixing the circuit board on the base such that a signal light emitting end or a signal light incident end mounted on the circuit board is coupled to the optical data bus at the signal light incident section or the signal light emitting section. And a plurality of substrate fixing portions.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a first embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention. FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show a signal light incident portion 11 that takes in the signal light 15 and a signal light emitting portion 14 that takes out the signal light 16 that diffuses in the optical data bus 10. A sheet-shaped optical data bus 10 which has a signal light 15 incident from a signal light incident portion 11 and emits from a signal light emitting portion 14
It is shown.

The optical data bus 10 has a diffusion means 19 in which a plurality of cylindrical surfaces 12 each having a convex lens shape are arranged at an edge 11a on the signal light incident portion 11 side.
The diffusing unit 19 has a function of diffusing the incident signal light 15 into the optical transmission layer 13 of the optical data bus 10. The main body of the optical data bus 10 has a high light transmittance P
Thickness of MMA (polymethyl methacrylate)
5 mm sheet-shaped light transmission layer 13. The light transmission layer 13 is prepared by preparing a mold in advance, heating the mold to a temperature at which PMMA is melted, and pouring PMMA in a molten state into the mold. Note that the cylindrical surface 12 only needs to be formed only at the portion where the signal light 15 is actually incident, and does not necessarily need to be formed over the entire surface of the edge 11a.

The cylindrical surface 12 has a function of diffusing the incident light 15 into the light transmission layer 13, and is made of the same PMMA as the material of the light transmission layer 13. This cylindrical surface 12 is produced by preparing a mold in advance, heating the mold to a temperature at which PMMA melts, and pouring the melted PMMA into the mold, similarly to the optical transmission layer 13. . In the present embodiment, the portion of the cylindrical surface 12 is illustrated as a separate member from the optical transmission layer 13 which is the main body of the optical data bus 10, but as described above, the portion of the cylindrical surface 12 is The transmission layer 13 and the transmission layer 13 may be formed separately and then combined and used as the optical data bus 10, or they may be integrated from the beginning as shown in the third and fourth embodiments described later. May be formed as a member.

FIG. 2 is a plan view (a) of the optical data bus shown in FIG. 1 and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In this embodiment, the arrangement pitch p of the cylindrical surfaces 12 is several hundred μm, and the size of the arrangement pitch p is set smaller than the beam diameter of the incident light 15 emitted from the semiconductor laser and collimated by the lens. The cylindrical surface 12 in the first embodiment is formed as a convex lens, and converts the incident signal light 15 into the signal light emitting portion 1.
It diffuses toward the edge 14a on the fourth side. The spread of the diffused signal light 16 changes depending on the focal length f of the cylindrical lens. In order for the diffused signal light 16 to have a sufficient broadcast property (how to spread the signal light 16), the incident signal light 15 reaches the edge 14a on the signal light emitting unit 14 side in a spread state. It is necessary to diffuse the signal light 16 as described above.

Here, the arrangement pitch of the cylindrical surfaces 12 is p, the length of the optical transmission layer 13 in the signal light transmission direction is L, the width of the edge 14a on the signal light emitting section 14 side is W, and the focal point as a cylindrical lens. When the distance is f, by setting each parameter so as to satisfy the relationship of f <p · L / W, the spread signal light 16 can have sufficient broadcast properties.

The signal light 15 incident on the optical data bus 10 is transmitted by the cylindrical surface 12 to the sheet surface 10a.
Is not diffused in the thickness direction of the optical transmission layer 13.
The spread of the signal light 16 diffused in the sheet in the thickness direction of the sheet surface 10a (the spread of the angle θ in FIG. 2B) is due to the original spread of the signal light 15 incident on the optical data bus 10. Since the signal light incident on the optical data bus 10 satisfies the condition of total reflection, it does not escape to the outside of the sheet surface 10a, but is transmitted through the optical transmission layer 13 and transmitted to the signal light emitting section 14.
Side edge 14a.

As described above, the optical data bus 10 of this embodiment is
In FIG. 2A, the incident signal light 15 is diffused only toward the signal light emitting unit 14, and the loss due to the signal light 95a exiting the optical transmission layer as shown in FIG. 12B, and there is almost no loss due to the signal light 95c spreading out of the fan shape as shown in FIG. 12B, so that a signal light use efficiency several times higher than that of the conventional example can be obtained.

Next, the variation of the intensity of the signal light reaching the edge 14a of the optical data bus 10 on the signal light emitting portion 14 side of the optical data bus 10 in the width W direction of the edge 14a will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a variation in signal light intensity in a signal light emitting portion of the optical data bus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3A shows the width of the edge 11a on the signal light incident part 11 side of the incident light incident on the cylindrical surface 12 formed on the edge 11a on the signal light incident part 11 (see FIG. 2A) side. FIG. 3B is a graph showing a light amount distribution according to the position in the direction, and FIG.
Is an edge 14a on the signal light emitting portion 14 (see FIG. 2A) side.
3C is a graph showing a light amount distribution according to a position in the width direction of each edge 14a of each signal light that has reached the position shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the light quantity distribution by the position of the width direction of the edge 14a.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the signal light incident portion 1
The light amount distribution of the signal light 15 incident on the edge 11a on the one side has a Gaussian distribution shape. In the present embodiment, as described above, the arrangement pitch p of the cylindrical surfaces 12 is formed smaller than the beam diameter of the incident light 15, and FIG.
Can be divided into three regions A, B, and C as indicated by broken lines when the distribution curve shown in FIG. When the signal light 15 having such a light amount distribution extending over the three regions A, B, and C is incident on the signal light incident portion 11 of the optical data bus 10, the signal light 15 becomes as shown in FIG. As shown, the three cylindrical surfaces 12a, 12b, 12
The incident light is divided into c. Among them, the signal light 15 incident on the cylindrical surface 12a is
The light is diffused by a (16a), passes through the optical transmission layer 13, and reaches the edge 14a on the signal light emitting unit 14 side. The light quantity distribution of the diffused signal light 16a at the edge 14a is shown in FIG.
Shows a downward-sloping distribution as shown by curve 17a.
The signal light incident on the cylindrical surface 12b is diffused by the cylindrical surface 12a (16b), passes through the optical transmission layer 13, and reaches the edge 14a on the signal light emitting unit 14 side. The light amount distribution of the diffused signal light 16b at the edge 14a shows a substantially symmetrical distribution that is upwardly convex as shown by a curve 17b in FIG. Further, the signal light incident on the cylindrical surface 12c is transmitted to the cylindrical surface 12a.
(16c), passes through the optical transmission layer 13, and reaches the edge 14a on the signal light emitting unit 14 side. The light quantity distribution at the edge 14a of the diffused signal light 16c shows a right-up distribution as shown by a curve 17c in FIG.

On the edge 14a on the signal light emitting portion 14 side, the signal lights 16a, 16b and 16c having the distributions shown by the above three curves 17a, 17b and 17c are synthesized, and as a result, on the edge 14a. The light quantity distribution of the obtained signal light shows a substantially flat curve 18 as shown in FIG. As described above, when signal light is incident on a plurality of cylindrical surfaces at the same time, the light amount distribution at the signal light emitting portion becomes a substantially flat curve, but even when the signal light is incident on one cylindrical surface, the optical data It is possible to function as a bus.

The cylindrical surface 12 not only constitutes a cylindrical lens having a convex lens-shaped cross section as in the present embodiment, but also forms a cylindrical lens having a concave lens-shaped cross section as described below. Good. Hereinafter, a modified example in the case where the cross section is a cylindrical lens having a concave lens shape will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a modification of the first embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a signal light incident portion 21 for receiving signal light 25 and an optical data bus 2.
Signal light emitting section 2 responsible for emitting signal light 26 diffusing inside 0
4 and the signal light 25 incident from the signal light incident part 21
The optical data bus 20 is shown in the form of a sheet and propagates from the signal light emitting unit 24 by propagating the light. The optical data bus 20
A diffusion means 29 having a plurality of cylindrical surfaces 22 each having a concave lens shape in cross section is provided on an edge 21a on the signal light incident portion 21 side. The diffusing means 29 has a function of diffusing the incident signal light 25 into the optical transmission layer 23 of the optical data bus 20.

As described above, in the optical data bus 20 having the plurality of concave lens-shaped cylindrical surfaces 22 formed therein, similarly to the optical data bus 10 of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Edge 2 on the emission section 24 side
From 4a, signal light having a substantially flat light amount distribution is emitted. In the first embodiment and its modifications described above, only one layer of the optical data bus is shown.
In practice, a stacked structure in which a plurality of such optical data buses are stacked is used as a data bus of a signal processing device. The laminated structure will be described later.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment of the optical data bus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a second embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B show a signal light incident portion 31 for injecting the signal light 35 and a signal light emitting portion 34 for emitting the signal light 36 diffused in the optical data bus 30. And the signal light 3 incident from the signal light incident part 31
5 shows a sheet-like optical data bus 30 that propagates through the signal light emitting portion 34 and is emitted from the signal light emitting portion 34.

The optical data bus 30 has a diffusion means 39 in which a plurality of cylindrical surfaces 32 each having a convex lens cross section are arranged on an edge 31a on the signal light incident portion 31 side.
The diffusing means 39 has a function of diffusing the incident signal light 35 into the optical transmission layer 33 of the optical data bus 30. As described above, in the present embodiment, the cylindrical surface 3
2 is formed integrally with the optical transmission layer 33 of the main body portion of the optical data bus 30. This is the first aspect in which the cylindrical surface portion and the optical transmission layer portion are separately formed and then integrally combined. This is different from the optical data bus of the embodiment. For this reason, the present embodiment has an advantage that it is not necessary to align the cylindrical surface portion and the optical transmission layer portion. All other points are the same as in the first embodiment, and as described with reference to FIG. 3, a signal having a substantially flat light amount distribution is provided from the edge 34a on the signal light emitting portion 34 side. Light is emitted.

The cylindrical surface 32 not only forms a cylindrical lens having a convex lens-shaped cross section as in the present embodiment, but also forms a cylindrical lens having a concave lens-shaped cross section as shown below. You may. Hereinafter, a modified example in the case where the cross section is a cylindrical lens having a concave lens shape will be described. FIG.
It is the perspective view (a) and the top view (b) which show the modification of 2nd Embodiment of the optical data bus of this invention.

FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show a signal light incident portion 41 for receiving a signal light 45, and an optical data bus 4.
Signal light emitting unit 4 responsible for emitting signal light 46 that diffuses inside 0
4 and the signal light 45 incident from the signal light incident part 41
The optical data bus 40 in the form of a sheet is transmitted from the signal light emitting section 44 by transmitting the light. The optical data bus 40
At an edge 41 a on the signal light incident portion 41 side, there is provided a diffusing unit 49 in which a plurality of cylindrical surfaces 42 each having a concave lens shape in cross section are arranged. The diffusing means 49 has a function of diffusing the incident signal light 45 into the optical transmission layer 43 of the optical data bus 40.

As described above, the plurality of cylindrical surfaces 42
In the optical data bus 40 on which the signal light emitting section 44 is formed, a substantially flat light amount is also obtained from the edge 44a on the signal light emitting section 44 side as in the optical data bus 30 of the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. A signal light having a distribution is emitted. In the above-described second embodiment and its modified example, an optical data bus having only one layer is shown. However, actually, such an optical data bus has a laminated structure in which a plurality of layers are stacked. Are used as a data bus of the signal processing device.

Next, a third embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view (a), a plan view (b), and a sectional view (c) showing the outline of a third embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention. FIG. 7 (a), FIG.
7 (b) and FIG. 7 (c), there is a signal light incident portion 51 for injecting the signal light 55, and a signal light emitting portion 54 for emitting the signal light 56 diffused in the optical data bus 50. Also, a sheet-shaped optical data bus 50 that propagates the signal light 55 incident from the signal light incident part 51 and emits the signal light from the signal light emitting part 54 is shown.

The edge 51a of the optical data bus 50 on the signal light incident portion 51 side is formed obliquely with respect to the sheet surface 50a of the optical data bus 50, and the oblique end surface is provided with a cylindrical surface 52 having a convex lens shape in cross section. Are provided with a plurality of diffusing means 59. The diffusing means 59 reflects the signal light 55 incident from the direction intersecting with the sheet surface 50a of the optical data bus 50 in the direction toward the signal light emitting portion 54 by the inclined cylindrical surface 52 and at the same time the optical data bus 50 has The light diffuses into the light transmission layer 53.

In the present embodiment, by making the angle of inclination of the cylindrical surface 52 with respect to the sheet surface 50a larger than the angle that satisfies the condition of total reflection, signal loss on the cylindrical surface can be extremely reduced. By forming a reflective film of aluminum or the like on the surface of the cylindrical surface 52 by a vapor deposition method or the like, the transmission efficiency of signal light can be further improved even when the total reflection condition is not satisfied. Although the angle can be set to any angle, it is usually desirable to set the inclination angle to 45 degrees.

The optical data bus of the present embodiment has a seat surface 5
The edge 51a formed obliquely with respect to the incident light 55
Is reflected in the direction of the signal light emitting portion 54, and since the projection surface of the signal light incident portion 51 on the sheet surface as viewed from the circuit board side of the connection partner has a certain spread, When connecting this optical data bus to the circuit board,
Optical alignment can be performed extremely easily only by adjusting the position so that the optical axis of the signal light from the light emitting element of the circuit board falls within this wide projection plane.

Also in this embodiment, the signal light 55 incident on the optical data bus 50 is not diffused by the cylindrical surface 52 in the thickness direction of the sheet surface 50a. The spread of the diffused signal light 56 in the thickness direction of the sheet surface 50a is due to the original spread of the signal light 15 incident on the optical data bus 50,
Since the signal light incident on the optical data bus 50 satisfies the condition of total reflection, it does not escape to the outside of the sheet surface 50a, is transmitted through the optical transmission layer 53, and reaches the edge 54a on the signal light emitting portion 54 side.

In the third embodiment described above,
Although an optical data bus having only one layer is shown, an optical data bus having a stacked structure in which a plurality of such optical data buses are stacked is used as a data bus of a signal processing device. Next, a fourth embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a plan view (a) and a partially enlarged view (b) showing an outline of a fourth embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.

The basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8A, this optical data bus 60 is responsible for receiving signal lights 65a, 65b and 65c. It has a signal light incident portion 61 and a signal light emitting portion 64 responsible for emitting signal light 66a, 66b, 66c that diffuses in the optical data bus 60, and propagates the signal light 65 incident from the signal light incident portion 61. And is a sheet-like optical data bus emitted from the signal light emitting section 64.

The signal light incident positions A, B, and C at three positions on the edge 61a of the optical data bus 60 on the signal light incident portion 61 side.
Further, a diffusing means 69 formed with cylindrical surfaces 62a, 62b, 62c is formed. The diffusing means 69 has a function of diffusing the incident signal light 65 into the optical transmission layer 63 of the optical data bus 60. The cylindrical surface 62b formed at the center position (signal light incident position B) of the optical data bus 60 on the edge 61a on the signal light incident portion 61 side is different from the cylindrical surface shown in the first to third embodiments. Similarly, it is formed in a symmetrical cylindrical lens shape, and the focal length and the arrangement pitch are set so that the signal light is diffused over the entire edge of the signal light emitting portion 64.

On the other hand, the edge 61a on the signal light incident portion 61 side
Of the optical data bus 60, the cylindrical surface 6 formed at a position (signal light incident position A) which is close to one side surface 67a.
2a has a shape in which the incident signal light is more diffused to the other side surface 67b side than the side surface 67a side,
That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, the convex lens is formed in a shape in which a part of an arc is cut away. Also, one side surface 67 of the optical data bus 60 at the edge 61a.
Similarly to the cylindrical surface 62a, the cylindrical surface 62c formed at a position (signal light incident position C) that is closer to the other side surface 67b opposite to the side a is formed in a shape in which a part of the arc of the convex lens is cut away. ing.

By setting the cylindrical surface 62a and the cylindrical surface 62c to have such special shapes and setting the focal length and the arrangement pitch so that the signal light is diffused over the entire edge 64a of the signal light emitting portion 64, the signal is obtained. The signal light 66a, 66b, 66c is controlled by controlling the light diffusion direction.
Everything is diffused over the entire edge 64a. next,
A configuration in the case where the optical data bus shown in the above-described first to fourth embodiments and having a stacked structure in which a plurality of layers are stacked is used as a data bus of a signal processing device will be described.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an optical data bus having a laminated structure in which a plurality of optical transmission layers, cladding layers, and light absorbing layers are laminated. As shown in FIG. 9, a laminated body including the optical transmission layer 2 and two cladding layers 3 sandwiching the optical transmission layer 2 forms a transmission path for transmitting signal light. Further, the optical data bus 1 having a laminated structure is formed by laminating a plurality of layers with the light absorbing layer 4 interposed therebetween. As described above, the optical data bus 1 has a laminated structure including a plurality of optical transmission layers 2 so that signal light from an arbitrary number of signal processing circuits can be transmitted from a plurality of bits via the optical data bus 1 having the laminated structure. The signal can be transmitted or received as a parallel optical signal to an arbitrary number of signal processing circuits.

The optical data bus of the present invention is not limited to the one formed as a laminated structure, but also includes an optical data bus having only one optical transmission layer. When there is only one optical transmission layer, for example, simultaneous transmission and reception of a plurality of signal lights can be performed by distinguishing the plurality of signal lights from each other based on the wavelength of the signal light. Next, an embodiment of the signal processing device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the signal processing device of the present invention. FIG.
A plurality of optical data buses having the same shape as the optical data bus 50 described with reference to and having diffusion means in which a plurality of cylindrical surfaces are arranged on oblique end surfaces is used. As shown in FIG. 10, a signal light emitting end 82 for emitting signal light toward the optical data bus 50 and a signal light emitting end 82 are emitted from the signal light emitting end 82 on a motherboard 70 which is an example of a base according to the present invention. A circuit 81 such as a VLSI for generating a signal to be carried by the signal light, a signal light incident end 84 on which the signal light emitted from the optical data bus 50 is incident, and a signal carried by the signal light incident from the signal light incident end 84 A plurality of circuit boards 80 are mounted on which a circuit 81 such as a VLSI that performs signal processing based on the above is mounted.

In the plurality of circuit boards 80, the signal light emitting end 82 to the signal light incident end 84 mounted on each circuit board 80 are connected to the signal light incident portion 51 (see FIG. 7) to the signal light emitting portion 54. A plurality of board fixing portions 71 fixed on the motherboard 70 in a state of being coupled to the optical data bus 50
Is fixed to the motherboard 70. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an optical connection state between the signal light input / output section of the optical data bus and the signal light input / output end of the circuit board.

As shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of light emitting elements 83 and a signal light
4 is provided with a plurality of light receiving elements 85, respectively.
By mounting the circuit board 80 on the board fixing portion 71 (see FIG. 10), the light emitting element 83 is arranged at a position corresponding to the signal light incidence section 51 of each optical transmission layer 53 of the optical data bus 50, and the light receiving element 85 Are the respective optical transmission layers 53 of the optical data bus 50
Is disposed at a position corresponding to the signal light emitting section 54 of FIG. Note that the signal light incident portion 51 of each optical transmission layer 53 of the optical data bus 50 is provided with the diffusion means 59 described with reference to FIG. Numeral 59 diffuses the incident signal light into each light transmission layer 53. Thus, each circuit board 80 and each optical transmission layer 53 of the optical data bus 50 are optically coupled.

Returning to FIG. 10, the description will be continued. Electrical wiring (not shown) is provided on the motherboard 70,
These electric wires are electrically connected to a circuit 81 such as a VLSI on a circuit board 80 mounted on the board fixing section 71 via the board fixing section 71. By mounting the circuit board 80 on the board fixing portion 71, the light emitting element 83 provided at the signal light emitting end 82 of the circuit board 80
The electrical signal that has been processed and output in step (1) is subjected to electrical / optical conversion, and the converted signal light is emitted toward the signal light incident portion 51 of the optical data bus 50.

The signal light incident on the signal light incident portion 51 of the optical data bus 50 diffuses in each optical transmission layer 53 and propagates to the signal light emitting portion 54, and from the signal light emitting portion 54, the signal light on the circuit board 80. The light is emitted to the light receiving element 85 provided at the incident end 84. The signal light received by the light receiving element 85 is optically / electrically converted, and the converted electric signal is input to another electronic circuit 81 for processing.

Next, the optical alignment between the optical data bus 50 and the circuit board 80 will be described. In the optical data bus 50, as shown in FIG. 11, a cylindrical surface 52 for reflecting the incident signal light in the direction of the signal light emitting portion 54 is provided on the oblique end surface of the edge 51a on the signal light incident portion 51 side.
Since a plurality of (see FIG. 7) are arranged, it is only necessary to align the signal light emitting portion 54 on the optical data bus 50 side and the light receiving element 85 provided at the signal light incident end 84 on the circuit board 80 side. Optical alignment between the light emitting element 83 provided at the signal light emitting end 82 of the circuit board 80 and the signal light incident part 51 of the optical data bus 50 is automatically performed. Accordingly, both the optical data bus 50 and the circuit board 80 can be freely inserted and removed, and a signal processing device with high expandability and high degree of freedom can be configured. Moreover, as described with reference to FIG. 7, this signal processing device uses an optical data bus in which high transmission efficiency is diffused by a cylindrical lens with small signal light loss, so that high speed and low power consumption are achieved. A power signal processing device can be obtained.

In this embodiment, a signal light emitting end for emitting a signal light, a circuit for generating a signal to be carried by the signal light emitted from the signal light emitting end, and a signal light incident Only the circuit board mounted with both the end and a circuit for performing signal processing based on the signal carried by the signal light incident from the signal light incident end is shown, but the circuit board is not necessarily limited to one having the above configuration A signal light emitting end for emitting the signal light, a circuit for generating a signal to be carried by the signal light emitted from the signal light emitting end, a signal light incident end for receiving the signal light, and the signal light A circuit board on which only one of a circuit for performing signal processing based on a signal carried by the signal light incident from the incident end may be mounted.

[0050]

As described above, according to the optical data bus of the present invention, the signal light incident on the optical data bus is supplied to the end on the signal light emitting portion side by the diffusion means having a plurality of cylindrical surfaces arranged. As it is spread over the entire edge,
It is possible to minimize the signal light that goes out of the optical transmission layer among the signal light, and obtain an optical data bus with high transmission efficiency and little variation in the amount of emitted light at the edge on the signal light emitting unit side. it can.

Further, according to the signal processing device of the present invention, by using the optical data bus of the present invention, the transmission efficiency of the signal light is high, and the variation of the signal light intensity among a plurality of substrates is small. Since transmission and reception are possible, a high-speed and low-power-consumption signal processing device can be realized. Also, since both the optical data bus and the circuit board can be freely inserted and removed, a signal processing device with high expandability and high degree of freedom can be configured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a first embodiment of an optical data bus of the present invention.

2A is a plan view of the optical data bus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining variation in signal light intensity in a signal light emitting portion of the optical data bus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a modification of the first embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a second embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a modification of the second embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view (a), a plan view (b), and a cross-sectional view (c) showing an outline of a third embodiment of the optical data bus of the present invention.
It is.

FIG. 8A is a plan view schematically showing an optical data bus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an optical data bus having a laminated structure in which a plurality of optical transmission layers, a cladding layer, and a light absorbing layer are laminated.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of a signal processing device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an optical connection state between a signal light input / output unit of an optical data bus and a signal light input / output end of a circuit board.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are a cross-sectional view and a plan view, respectively, showing how signal light is diffused when a light diffusion section is provided in a sheet-shaped optical data bus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical data bus 2 Optical transmission layer 3 Cladding layer 4 Optical absorption layer 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 Optical data bus 10a, 50a Sheet surface 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 Signal light incidence part 11a , 14a, 21a, 31a, 41a, 51a, 6
1a Edge 12,12a, 12b, 12c, 22,32,42,5
2, 62a, 62b, 62c Cylindrical surfaces 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, 63 Optical transmission layers 14, 24, 34, 44, 54, 64 Signal light emitting portions 15, 16, 16a, 16b, 25, 26, 35,3
6,45,46,55,56,65,66,66a, 6
6b, 66c Signal light 17a, 17b, 17c, 18 Curve 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69 Diffusion means 70 Motherboard 71 Board fixing part 80 Circuit board 81 Circuit 82 Signal light emitting end 83 Light emitting element 84 Signal light incident end 85 light receiving element 90 optical data bus 92 light diffusion section 93 light transmission layer 93a front surface 93b back surface 94 signal light emitting section 94a edge 95, 95a, 95c signal light

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masanori Hirota 430 Nakai-cho, Nakai-machi, Ashigara-kami, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Xerox Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. In-company (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Sakai 430 Sakai Nakaicho, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Green Tech Naka Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Inventor Takashi Ozawa 430 Border, Nakai-cho, Ashigara-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Green Tech Naka In Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A signal light incident portion along one edge, which is responsible for signal light incidence, and a signal light emitting portion, along an edge opposite to said one edge, which emits signal light. A sheet-shaped optical data bus that propagates the signal light incident from the signal light incident portion and emits the signal light from the signal light emitting portion, wherein the signal light incident on the one edge is the light An optical data bus, comprising: a diffusing unit having a plurality of cylindrical surfaces arranged to diffuse inside the data bus. 2. The optical data bus according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement pitch of the cylindrical surfaces is configured such that the signal light is simultaneously incident on the plurality of cylindrical surfaces. 3. The optical data bus according to claim 1, wherein the one edge is formed obliquely with respect to a sheet surface of the optical data bus, and the cylindrical surface is formed on the oblique end surface. 2. The optical data bus according to claim 1, wherein the light is incident from a position along the one edge of the sheet surface, is reflected by the cylindrical surface, and is diffused into the optical data bus. . 4. The cylindrical surface formed at a position closer to one side surface of the optical data bus at the one edge, makes the incident signal light more than the one side surface side.
2. The optical data bus according to claim 1, wherein the optical data bus is formed to have a shape that is largely diffused to the other side surface opposite to the one side surface. 5. A base, a signal light emitting end for emitting signal light, a circuit for generating a signal to be carried by the signal light emitted from the signal light emitting end, a signal light incident end for receiving the signal light, and the signal A plurality of circuit boards on which at least one of a signal processing circuit based on a signal carried by the signal light incident from the light incident end is mounted, and a signal light responsible for signal light incidence along one edge Incident portion, along the other edge opposite to the one edge, has a signal light emitting portion responsible for emitting signal light, and propagates the signal light incident from the signal light incident portion A sheet-shaped optical data bus emitted from the signal light emitting portion, wherein the one end edge is configured to diffuse an incident signal light into the optical data bus, and a diffusion unit including a plurality of cylindrical surfaces arranged. Having an optical data bus, and The road substrate, said fixed onto the substrate in a state where the signal beam emitting end mounted on the circuit board to the signal light input end is coupled to the optical data bus in the signal light input unit to the signal light emitting portion,
A signal processing device comprising: a plurality of substrate fixing portions.