Fiber-optic interfaces for FASTECH(TM) (formerly BELLPAC(TM).

The author has conducted a systems study to identify the types of fiber-optic interfaces required for FASTECH(TM) hardware. The study was based on the needs of customers (AT&T equipment designers). Three categories of fiber-optic interfaces will satisfy the customer need. They are: 1) Smart optical connectors (e.g., RS-232 and PBX data-links) - To interface fibers to Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) 2) Single and multiple (array) channel data-link connectors - To interface fibers to FASTECH (TM) backplanes 3) Separable backplane optical connectors; a) the fiber cluster connector, and b) the silicon array connector - To interface optical fibers through the backplane to the circuit pack.