Fiber optic RF is an important component in industries such as aerospace, radar, broadcast, satellite and GPS communications, and in weight-sensitive environments such as space or subsea industries. With RF over fiber, radio communication is consistent and reliable.
Some use cases require added delay on the fiber line to achieve synchronized timing of the signal from multiple points to the final location.
Why increase the latency of fiber-optic RF?
As fiber-optic RF deployments and architectures become more complex, the need to ensure synchronized packets becomes increasingly important. A deployed fiber-optic RF environment may include multiple fiber-optic RF modules, each with fiber-optic connections, which may be at different distances and destined for the same end-point application. Although time differences can be measured in microseconds, these differences can have a significant impact on how data is assembled and processed at endpoints. The increase in latency helps coordinate the flow of data. Network designers must account for these differences and add latency.
Satellite, radio, radar and GPS applications
Industries that use satellites, do broadcasts, or take advantage of radar and other RFoF technologies have seen dramatic increases in speed with the addition of satellites, dishes, and other devices that improve signal quality and detail. A common environment is where multiple satellite dishes receive input to be sent to a single command station or broadcast point, but are located at variable distances from the broadcast point. The increase in delay helps equalize signal timing.
An example is a radar data center at a facility that receives signals from multiple antennas. These signals must arrive at the same time so that the software can interpret the data into a usable display.
ZR Optics - Optical Time Lapse Expert
Together with fiber RF hardware partners, ZR Optical Communications provides complete fiber RF systems with fully customized optical time delay solutions to meet any specific application needs. Whether standard delay lines are required, or dispersion compensated delays for special cases, ZR offers a variety of rack-mountable and portable platforms to match the project. So what are the two most common applications that ZR can help with?
Live Signal Timing
As mentioned earlier in this article, signal timing is critical in systems with multiple fiber links/paths, including these RFoF applications. In a network with multiple long-range satellite or radar antennas, with multiple fibers connecting back to the operations center (which may be at different distances), the precise optical delay of the M2 can be used to equalize these paths for signal timing.
Simulate latency in the test lab
In a laboratory environment, M2 Optics' delay lines can be used for a variety of test applications. Whether it is imperative to accurately simulate fiber optic links when designing new RFoF systems and certifying systems prior to deployment, or integrating delay lines into proposed systems for research and testing, M2 Optics offers a complete optical delay platform product portfolio, these platforms are proven to add value.
Whether in production or in the fiber lab, ZR can provide solutions to optimize your fiber RF deployment.
