Reconfigurable Add/Drop WDM Avionics Network

Dense WDM network architectures for aircraft avionics links will be developed and demonstrated using components incorporating chip-scale photonic integration. Integrated silicon photonics components will be used for the node hardware in these networks, as defined in Phase I. Chip level integration will be utilized to reduce size and power consumption, improve reliability, and eliminate unnecessary device to fiber interfaces. The integrated components will use silicon based processes are used to take advantage of existing semiconductor fabrication facilities and lower material costs. These network node components will be demonstrated in a system testbed that will also test and demonstrate scalability, modularity, and reconfigurability.