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Optical components and systems benefit aerospace and defense applications iuith high speed, loiu weight, and increased security.
The requirement for compact, lightweight, low-power electronics - exacerbated by the growing demand for greater data throughput and bandwidth - is driving the use of optical technologies in military and aerospace applications. Optical components and systems are increasingly being investigated, as well as adopted, by aerospace and defense engineers for a wealth of land, sea, air, and space applications.
"Customers are definitely requesting more optical solutions in the milaero realm, and the interest is typically driven by one of more of optics' advantages over copper," explains Gregory Powers, market development manager at TE Connectivity Ltd. in Seattle (Tyco Electronics was renamed TE Connectivity Ltd. last month). "There are several benefits to optical computing, including: reduction of size, weight, and power (SWaP); electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity; the fact that fiber optics offers a secure communication line where any tapping can be detected; ease of installation; and data rate over distance.
"Some of these advantages are interdependent," Powers adds. "For instance, because optical fiber is immune to EMI, there is no need for shielding of the cables. Shielding is heavy, adds size, and brings about installation and application problems. In composite aircraft, special provisions have to be made for bonding the shields to assigned grounds and protection of shielding relative to lightning strike. Optical computing can minimize all these issues."
Optical advantages
Optical components and systems are attractive for airborne applications, ranging from a flight- critical databus to a video or sensor link, given the desire for the reduction of SWaP, ease of installation, and EMI immunity, Powers says. In ground-based applications - such as secure bunker-to-bunker communications, electro-optic (EO) sensor mast-to-control station links, or RF over fiber antennae links - the advantage of optics over distance often is the deciding factor, followed by EMI immunity, security, and reduced weight.
"The big thing we're seeing is in a lot of aircraft, they want to reduce weight," observes Kirk Lussier, program and account manager at DiCon Fiberoptics in Richmond, Calif. "Fiber weighs a lot less [than copper] - that's a big advantage of moving to fiber-optic systems.
"In telecom, fiber deployment started with the longest networks, where optical technology...