Design and Performance of a 6 Ghz Analog Optical Link

Applied Physical Electronics, L.C. (APELC) has designed and constructed an analog optical link with a bandwidth of 250 kHz to 6 GHz. The system is controlled from a Lab View -based remote platform that provides the user with control and monitoring of the system standby function, battery charge, temperature, and attenuation. The internal step attenuator provides 60 dB of dynamic range in 1 dB increments. Internal temperature compensation allows the system to operate without recalibrations in environments where the temperature fluctuates over a wide range in one day. The link is housed in a rugged and shielded enclosure for use in external environments with extremely high field strengths. This paper describes design considerations and performance of the system.