Luna's OFDR Technology Addresses A Critical Problem For Avionic Networks
An article appearing in the December issue of Defense Tech Briefs titled "Fiber Interferometry for Testing Military Avionics" was written by Brian Soller, Strategic Business Development, to highlight the advantages of Luna Innovations' technologies in short-run optical networks, such as those in avionic systems where environmental considerations are often much more demanding.
Traditionally, fiber optic networks are inspected with instrumentation based on optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR). The article discusses the development of modern fiber optic networks and the use of Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) as a health diagnostic tool for military and aerospace fiber networks. Luna's proprietary OFDR technology is key in Luna's Optical Backscatter Reflectometer™ (OBR) platform. The OBR 4400 is an ultra-high resolution OFDR with backscatter-level sensitivity designed for component- and module-level reflectometry.
"As optical fiber becomes more common in vital systems in aircraft, methods for fiber-link health management become increasingly important," said Soller. "Luna's system is fast, easy-to-use, and due to its intrinsic resolution, provides users with easy-to-interpret results that can discriminate between fiber bends and breaks, bad splices and poor connectors. Defense organizations, contractors, and military and commercial airframe manufacturers can use OFDR technology to improve performance while lowering maintenance cost of fiber optic-based systems in aircraft and other platforms."
Defense Tech Briefs is a bimonthly magazine published by NASA that reports on cutting-edge design ideas from the Air Force, Army, Navy and DARPA that forward-thinking engineers apply in their product development projects. For more information visit http://www.lunatechnologies.com/news/Defense-Tech-Briefs.pdf
About Luna Technologies
Luna Technologies, a division of Luna Innovations Incorporated located in Blacksburg, Virginia, manufactures and markets test and measurement equipment and integrated sensing solutions. Luna Technologies' products are used for test, measurement and sensing in telecommunications, manufacturing, power generation and distribution, down-hole oil and gas, aerospace, and defense applications. Its products award-winning products are sold and distributed throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
SOURCE: Luna Technologies, a Division of Luna Innovations Incorporated