Engineering of fiber optics infrastructure

Fiber optic technology is making significant advances for use in a number of air and space platforms. Many of these applications involve integration into systems which make extensive use of optical fiber for high bandwidth signal transmission. The large signal transmission bandwidth of optical fiber has a large and positive impact on the overall weight of the cable harness. Several current air and space platforms that use fiber optic systems include commercial and military aircraft, unmanned aircraft, the International Space Station and several NASA and international space exploration systems. Substantial sources of variability may be introduced in the fiber optic connectors and termini that are designed into each piece of equipment unless the design specifications adequately identify operating and storage environments, use widely recognized standards for fiber optic cable assembly manufacturing and testing. At each development and manufacturing stage, from design through manufacturing, each type of fiber optic connector and termini may require unique fixtures for processing and inspection. Involving personnel from design through installation, together with suppliers, may help avoid significant costs for equipment and minimize or eliminate costly defects. Fiber optic technologies do not require significant power and complex electronics while allowing signal processing to be located close to the networked applications. There are many benefits of fiber optic systems for air and space applications, including minimal electromagnetic interference and environmental effects, lightweight and smaller diameter cables, greater bandwidth and the ability to be easily upgraded. This paper presents an overview of defining fiber optic system and component performance by identifying operating and storage environmental requirements, using appropriate standards to be used in fiber optic cable assembly manufacturing and inspection, interacting with component manufacturers for interoperable hardware, developing inspection methods and fixtures compliant with the selected standards and developing a quality plan that assures satisfaction of every design requirement.