Maintenance and Repair Diagnostic Simplification of Fiber Optic Networks

Fiber optic networks have become a crucial part of the modern fighter jet and shipborne communications backbone. As speeds increase due to the further incorporation of advanced sensors such as forward-looking infrared systems and other advanced electro-optical targeting systems planned in some Naval aircraft into pilot monitoring systems, the use of fiber optic interconnects will only increase. Fiber optic systems are the best choice for low weight, low power consumption and high bandwidth interconnects. One drawback compared to other solutions is the somewhat more difficult job of maintenance and repair, particularly in contested environments where time may be of the essence.Ā Today, troubleshooting an optical fiber involves removing both ends of the fiber optic assembly and replacing it with a connection fiber connection requiring the technician to access both ends of the fiber optic cable during the testing. This adds time and complexity to the process. Furthermore, any fiber optic cabling between the optical component and the bulkhead component is not included in the test, making for a more complex diagnosis. The next stage involves cleaning of the optical connectors, and potentially using a visible fault locator to identify potential problems in the fiber. The proposed solution would allow a technician to perform the fiber test by accessing only one bulkhead connector and characterize the loss of the optical fiber network. In principle, this can be done using an optical time domain or frequency domain reflectometer. However, this requires significant training to use the equipment and diagnose potential problems. Here, the only equipment needed is an optical power meter, a tool that all technicians are currently trained to use and interpret the results. This translates to significant time and equipment savings when compared to current methodology. The proposed solution integrates a dichroic filter in the fiber optic network that allows the signal light to pass, but reflects light at other wavelengths. The out of band wavelength can be used to characterize the optical fiber and allow for rapid diagnosis of the system. A simple test interface unit will be developed that will allow rapid diagnostic in contested environments.