Optical data link using a CD laser

A 266 Mb/s optical link card based on a 780 nm compact disc (CD) laser has been designed by IBM Rochester to provide a fast data link for interconnecting computer systems. This design not only met the performance and cost objectives of the data communications environment, it also overcame key challenges in the areas of laser safety, laser reliability, and modal noise. The 266 Mb/s data rate was selected to conform to the new American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Fiber Channel Standard (FCS).