PASSIVE FIBER OPTIC COMPONENTS FOR SEVERE ENVIRONMENTS

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A MULTI-CHANNEL FIBER OPTIC INTERCONNECTION DEVICE THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE SEVERE CONDITIONS OF THE MILITARY AIRCRAFT ENVIRONMENT. THE PROPOSED INTERCONNECT DEVICE CONSISTS OF AN ADAPTER AND A CONNECTOR FOR RIBBON FIBERS OR MULTI-CHANNEL CABLES. THIS DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY WILL FOCUS ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES AND ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS. SPECIFICALLY, WE INTEND TO USE ETCHED SILICON CHIPS, THAT CAN BE FABRICATED WITH EXTREMELY TIGHT TOLERANCES, TO POSITION THE OPTICAL FIBERS. WE INTEND TO EXTEND THE "FLOATING CONTACT" CONCEPT TO A MULTI-CHANNEL CONNECTOR. IN ADDITION, ADVANCED POLYMERIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS THAT HAVE EXCELLENT HIGH TEMPERATURE CAPABILITIES, SUCH AS FILLED LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMERS, WILL BE USED. FINALLY, NOVEL BONDING TECHNIQUES THAT CAN WITHSTAND HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HIGH VIBRATION WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THESE ADVANCED ELEMENTS WILL GENERATE A NEW CLASS OF FIBER OPTIC CONNECTORS. SMALLER MULTI-CHANNEL FO CONNECTORS WILL BE DESIGNED BY USING TIGHTER FIBER PLACEMENT IN THE ETCHED SILICON V-GROOVES. LIGHTER CONNECTORS WILL RESULT FROM SIZE REDUCTION AND FROM ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS. METAL REDUCTION WILL REDUCE RADAR CROSSSECTIONS. THE "FLOATING CONTACT" CONCEPT WILL PROVIDE: REDUCTION OF INSERTION LOSS TO BELOW 1 DB, IMPROVED TEMPERATURE CAPABILITY, AND IMPROVED TOLERANCE OF HIGH VIBRATION ENVIRONMENTS.