Abstract
Growth in demand for bandwidth within avionic systems has renewed interest in wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) topologies. Within an Avionics context, systems are specified for operation from
–55 °C to 125 °C. This increased operational temperature range exceeds the capability of
commercial off the shelf components. Here, we have investigated the design and operation of a dense WDM network over
an extended temperature range. The implementation uses spectrum sliced seed sources in combination with reflective
semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) end nodes. We report on the performance of a single polarization ridge
waveguide RSOA with an Al containing quaternary active region. Two different designs of RSOA have been evaluated: a
standard bulk heterostructure device and the single polarization ridge waveguide device design for high temperature
operation. It has been shown that a SS-WDM network can be implemented using the RWG-RSOA and maintain a BER of 10
$^{-9}$
at 75 °C allowing for 6 dB excess loss to
account for component and connector aging. This offers an extension of at least 20 °C when compared to the
standard bulk active RSOA. In addition, a novel passive cooling method, devised to compensate for short term
excursions outside the maximum thermal operating envelope, has been investigated. This technique uses a phase change
material as a passive, cooling mechanism. The performance of this method is contrasted against a thermoelectric cooler
considering the influence of power consumption on fuel requirements for a Boeing 737–800.
© 2013 IEEE
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