High-speed rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) Batcher-banyan switching core

摘要

We have carried out a paper feasibility study of the implementation of most common packet switching cores (crossbar, Batcher-banyan, time-division shared bus, and token ring) using the superconductor rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) digital technology. According to our estimates, the best performance-to-complexity ratio may be obtained for the Batcher-banyan network. For example, a 128 by 128 switching core with self-routing (but without address translation, contention resolution, and broadcast features), consisting of about 180,000 Josephson junctions with the internal clock frequency of 60 GHz could handle a workload of 7.5 Tbps. This core could fit on a single 1 cm by 1 cm chip and dissipate as low as 45 mW. The estimated parameters are achievable using a simple 1.5-micrometer niobium- trilayer technology.