Aerospace / Defence

Answering the Call to Duty

Recent advances in aerospace and defense applications have required the use of high-speed data links that are compact, lightweight, and insensitive to harsh environments. However, many competing platforms take a monolithic design approach that may include dozens of small optical components, each actively aligned to one another. These components are susceptible to vibration and mechanical shock and may also pose a spark or fire hazard.

Enablence’s Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) technology is ideal for this market. Our large-scale integrated PLCs can combine hundreds of optical subcomponents onto a single miniature chip, fabricated using reliable and repeatable wafer manufacturing techniques.

The amount of functionality that can be built on a PLC chip in a given form factor far exceeds anything possible with traditional optics and off-the-shelf components. The PLC is a very rugged and compact lightweight platform that can be customized to meet the transmission, reliability and reduced footprint specs demanded by modern military communications networks.

In addition, optical signals are not affected by electromagnetic interference (EMI), which is increasingly important in modern aircraft built from composite materials. A PLC solution is also free of any moving micro-components, which can pose a spark or fire hazard in some aerospace applications.

To learn more about how Enablence can help you develop ruggedized aerospace and defense systems that set a new standard for performance, size and weight, please request a consultation.