
2
S2036
OPEN FIBER CONTROL
OVERVIEW
The OFC system is an open fiber link detection and
laser control system specified in ANSI XT311 Fibre
Channel physical standard. It is used as a safety
interlock for point-to-point optical fiber links that use
semiconductor laser diodes as the optical source.
The major reason for implementing OFC is that the
optical power levels required to obtain the desired
level of system performance in Fibre Channel ex-
ceeds the Class 1 limits defined by national and
international laser safety standards, if the optical fi-
ber link between two optical ports is disconnected,
such as would occur with an opened connector or a
cut fiber. It is extremely important that requirements
for Class 1 classification are met, due to the poten-
tial for customer exposure to laser radiation.
Since it is only when an optical link is opened that a
user can be exposed to laser radiation, implement-
ing OFC allows Class 1 classification requirements
to be met, since it can detect when the link has been
disrupted and can shut down the laser or reduce the
optical power level. The S2036 complies fully with
the OFC specifications and Class 1 requirements.
Refer to the ANSI Fibre Channel standard document
for details of OFC operation.
Figure 2. Functional Block Diagram
CIRCUIT OPERATION
Whenever the fiber data link is disrupted (by a cut fiber
or a disconnected connector), the S2036 detects the
disruption and forces the transceiver into a repetitive
pulsing mode of operation with a very low duty cycle.
The link returns to normal operation only when the
device detects that the disruption has been repaired
and the proper reconnection handshake has taken
place between the two transceivers in the link.
As seen in the module block diagram in Figure 2,
two loss-of-light control paths are provided and both
must be satisfied before the laser can be activated.
Each path has a separate digital filter, state ma-
chine, and a counter. Two loss-of-light detectors
each feed a digital filter. The output of each filter is
“OR/EQUALed” to produce an interval Loss-of-Light
(LOL) signal. If the REFCKIN is too fast or too slow,
the clock detector causes the laser to be deacti-
vated. Two laser driver control outputs are
independently capable of disabling the laser drive
circuitry. They are of opposite polarity to prevent
voltage control problems from accidentally activating
the laser. The link status output signals the user
system when the link is inactive.
A power-on-reset signal is used to synchronize the
counters and state machines. Three user system
control lines, Laser Fault, Link Control and
Loopback Enable, force the S2036 to disable the
laser drive circuitry and turn off the laser.
DIGITAL
FILTER
OR/
EQL
STATE
MACHINE
AND
DE-GLITCH
AND
COUNTER
COUNTER
PULSE
REPETITION
TIMER
AND
INV
AND
INV
STATE
MACHINE
OR/
EQL
DIGITAL
FILTER
CLOCK
DETECT
LOL1
LOL1B
LNKCTRL
LOOPEN
CSRW
CSSTROBE
LOL2
LDENP
LDENN
OFCDEFB
OFCDEF
LNKSTAT
(PECL)
LASERFLT
RESET
POR
SYSTEM CLOCK
SELECT
RING
OSCILLATOR
REFCKIN
CNTRL1/CNTRL1B
CNTRL0/CNTRL0B
CNTRL2
TESTEN
PRT(2:0)
3
3
3