Extended temperature range FlightGuide/sup /spl trade// optical fiber cable

Summary form only given. OFS Specialty Photonics Division (OFS) has supplied FlightGuide/sup /spl trade// optical fiber cable for military and commercial aircraft for over 20 years. FlightGuide/sup /spl trade// cable has performed successfully for many U.S. military avionic systems including the F-16, F/A-22, Blackhawk (and former Comanche) helicopter, and Rockwell Collins HF9000 radio systems. The current FlightGuide/sup /spl trade// cable design with a 100/140 /spl mu/m graded-index fiber has an operating temperature range of-55/spl deg/C to +165/spl deg/C. This design has been modified to operate at an expanded temperature range of -100/spl deg/C to +200/spl deg/C. Data from an EDX analysis is presented to show that no silicone residue is left on the polyimide coating after mechanical stripping of the silicone along with attenuation data over the temperature range from -65/spl deg/C to +170/spl deg/C. A plan to further improve this design by providing a hermetic carbon coating on the optical fiber is discussed.