LONG HAUL FIBER-OPTIC LINK FOR NAVY RANGES

THE REQUIREMENT FOR A LONG HAUL FIBER OPTIC LINK FOR NAVY RANGES WILL BE SATISFIED WITH AN INNOVATIVE MIX OF PROVEN TECHNIQUES AND THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR HAS THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE TO COMBINE THE LATEST PROVEN TECHNOLOGY IN SEVERAL RELATED FIELDS TO ACHIEVE A LOW COST, LOW POWER, HIGH PERFORMANCE SOLUTION TO THE IN-WATER DATA GATHERING REQUIREMENTS. RELIABLE LED FIBER OPTIC DRIVERS AND RECEIVERS ARE AVAILABLE AT LOW COST. NEW FIBER AND CONNECTORS HAVE MUCH LOWER LOSSES. MILITARY CABLE SUPPLIERS ARE AVAILABLE TO COMBINE POWER AND FIBER ELEMENTS IN A SINGLE CABLE WITH SUFFICIENT STRENGTH AND RUGGED ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ELEMENT OF THIS SOLUTION IS THE RECENT RELEASE OF VERY HIGH SPEED CMOS MICROCONTROLLERS AND DATA INTERFACE LOGIC WHICH PERMITS SIMPLE, LOW COST, RELIABLE SOLUTIONS TO THE TERMINAL DESIGN PROBLEM USING OFF-THE-SHELF DEVICES. WHILE ADA WILL BE USED AS THE DESIGN LANGUAGE, THE SMALL, REAL-TIME CONTROL CODE (IN ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE) WILL ONLY NEED TO CONTROL FORMAT AND SEQUENCE OF THE DATA MESSAGES. THIS APPROACH WILL GREATLY REDUCE THE TERMINAL COMPLEXITY. REDUNDANCE WILL BE RESEARCHED BASED ON SPECIFIC RELIABILITY AND SURVIVABILITY ISSUES. THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A DETAILED DESIGN AND DOCUMENTATION PACKAGE TO SUPPORT THE REQUIREMENT. FIBER OPTIC COMPONENTS AND CABLE WILL BE RESEARCHED, AND COST PERFORMANCE TRADEOFFS DOCUMENTED. TERMINAL LOGIC WILL BE DESIGNED, DRAWINGS PREPARED, AND A LABORATORY FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION WILL BE CONDUCTED.