Optical communication for advanced avionics systems

This paper briefly describes the optical requirements for advanced avionics systems and the progress towards developing the building blocks necessary to implement these systems. There are five major optical elements required: (1) opto-electronic transmitters and receivers, (2) module high density optical connectors, (3) rack mounted optical backplane interconnect, (4) rack high-density optical connectors, and (5) environmentally stable fiber ribbon cable. There have been a number of DoD sponsored individual programs that have individually addressed many of these critical areas. This paper will explore some options available for the unification of multiple technical elements to create an affordable system solution for optically interconnected advanced avionics.