Fiber optics for military aircraft flight systems

The technologies required to implement fiber-optic-based, or fly-by-light, flight control systems are considered. Following some historical background, the state of the art in fiber-optic position sensors is reviewed. General requirements are discussed, and wavelength-division digital, time-division digital, two-wavelength analog, chirped intensity-modulated analog, and other sensor configurations are examined. The most prominent and best-developed sensor multiplexing techniques are reviewed. Optically controlled actuators, avionic data buses, wideband transceivers, and fiber-optic cables and connectors are discussed.<
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