Compact, High-Resolution OFDR Unit For Aerospace Applications

Short-length optical communications networks such as those employed on military aircraft are in need of frequent assessment of link health. Precise location and identification of cracks and breaks, as well as an accurate assessment of loss due to fiber bends, splices, and connectors, are critical to maintaining signal integrity along the link. Commercial OTDR units do not have the spatial resolution required for short-length network analysis; the resolution or dead zones of many OTDR units can equal total link lengths for aerospace applications. To address the diagnostic needs of short networks, Luna Innovations proposes to develop a compact, high-spatial resolution Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer (OFDR). The OFDR unit will incorporate optical ASIC and compact, swept-frequency laser technology. During the phase I effort, an OFDR laboratory unit will be fabricated and tested to demonstrate the utility of the technique. During phase II, an optical ASIC incorporating the OFDR network will be fabricated. Specialized sampling and processing electronics will be developed and integrated with the laser and optical ASIC resulting in a compact, rugged, light weight OFDR unit with millimeter spatial resolution. This OFDR unit is expected to be completely compatible with 50-GHz, ITU-grid WDM systems.