Fiber-Optic Architecture for Scalable Throughput and Low-Latency Interconnect Technology Enhancement

The U.S. Navy is seeking to develop next generation optical backplanes for avionics that support scalability to meet future growth needs of avionics platforms. To address this Navy need, Intellisense Systems, Inc. (Intellisense) proposes to develop the new Fiber-Optic Architecture for Scalable Throughput and Low-Latency Interconnect Technology Enhancement (FAST-LITE) based on a unique combination of fiber-backplane integration methodologies and interconnect strategies including modular connector configurations that align to SOSA/VITA standards implementations. Specifically, our unique optical backplane structure decouples the optical backplane fabrication and integration from the copper backplane design and fabrication process, thereby reducing required vendor buy-in to achieve a dual copper and optical backplane design. Furthermore, the innovative optical backplane components and integration strategy ensures conformance to existing industry standards for termination and mechanical float relative to the copper backplane while shaping future standards. In Phase I, Intellisense will develop a WDM optical backplane hardware design for demonstrating feasibility while developing prototype plans for Phase II. In Phase II, we will further optimize the backplane design for future systems leading to the building of test optical backplanes for characterization and delivery of a test unit. The commercialization goal derived from the effort will be to design, qualify, and manufacture systems leveraging the FAST-LITE-derived designs, thus proving the viability of the updated standards to address innovative optical backplane implementation for defense applications.