Pigtail-free DC to 22 GHz photodiode modules for scalable avionic platforms

Fiber-optic interconnects have a natural advantage in speed, electro-magnetic immunity, scalability, and weight as compared to all-electronic interconnects, and are being increasingly used in avionics platforms to link multiple processors, radars, sensors, and communication terminals. Utilization of star network topology further promises to improve scalability and flexibility in these platforms. Fiber management and related operations, such as fiber splicing, pose a practical challenge for realizing these goals. Therefore, there is a need for high-speed optical components that are free of fiber pigtails that satisfy the stringent temperature and mechanical requirements of avionics platforms. Previously, we have developed fiber-pigtailed ultrafast InP/InGaAs photodiodes that not only satisfy shock and vibration requirements, but have also passed additional tests needed for space qualification. For this work, we modified the input optical interface and related packaging of these photodiodes and manufactured a pigtail-free DC to 22 GHz photodiode module with a Lucent Connector (LC) fiber receptacle having stable operation over a wide range of temperature, namely -40 °C to +120 °C.