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Polymer-fiber technology

Spectral attenuation of the cable assembly   Simulation of Variable Optical Attenuator(VOA)

Polymer-fiber optic data links for fly by light systems in aircraft

The tremendous increase in the installation of electronic systems in modern aircraft has raised the complexity, weight and size of aircraft data networks. The commonly used copper based networks have many constraints like bandwidth limitations, susceptibility to Electro-Magnetic Interferences (EMI), etc. A rapid advancement of polymer-based photonic technology in the telecom industry makes the application of optical data transmission with polymer fiber more attractive for the use in avionic applications. However, the unique performance requirements and stringent safety regulations in the aerospace industry do not allow direct mapping of techniques or components. With the objective of integrating polymer fiber based physical layer, this study reveals the key concepts involved in the design and demonstration of a reliable data link.

The primary vision of this study is to reduce installation and maintenance cost especially for the connectors, reduce complexity and weight, while improving the modularity, scalability and reliability of avionic data links by using large polymer core fiber. The most important steps in this research include:

• Assessment of necessary requirements for fiber optic physical layer.
• Assessment of the maturity of photonic components and techniques used in the automotive as well as telecommunication industry, to enable adaptation to the aircraft networks
• Investigation of the practical impacts on the signal carried by the link due to wider and unique operating conditions of aircraft systems.
• Empirical validation of the compatibility of components and modules, by integrating the system to a realistic aircraft network physical layer.