The goal of this project is to fabricate a chassis/circuit card demonstration entirely "wired" with embedded and interconnected optical fibers. Graphite/epoxy Standard Electronic Module E (SEM-E) configured panels have been successfully fabricated. Fiber-embedded SEM-E configured panels have been subjected to simultaneous signal transmission and vibration testing. Packaging constraints will require tapping composite-embedded optical fibers at right angles to the direction of optical transmission.

The objective of this effort is to utilize composite-embedded optical fibers in airborne electronic packaging to achieve improved signal transmission capabilities and reduced weight. Embedded evanescent couplers are being developed. Also, an embedded spiral is being tested for signal distribution by means of evanescent coupling from a motherboard to individual circuit cards. A design for an embedded connector array is being developed. High temperature optical fibers are being investigated for embedment in Metal Matrix Composites. Hollow sapphire waveguides have been embedded in aluminum.

An essential component of any fiber optic network is a 2×2 crosspoint switch (1,2). Advanced organic thin film materials have shown great promise for potential applications for photonics (3). In particular, second order nonlinear polymers have demonstrated their utility in Mach-Zehnder modulators (4-7). This paper reports progress toward a 2×2 crosspoint switch using a poled electro-optic polymer to achieve switching in an active evanescent coupler. (8) This effort came as a result of a need to develop switching for composite-embedded fiber optic data links (9, 10, 11) in avionics. The active electro-optic evanescent coupler is depicted below in Figure 1.

Future avionics data links will require active couplers to achieve smart processing. This effort reports progress toward achieving smart processing in composite-embedded avionics data links. The specific objective is to develop a symmetric evanescent coupler which achieves electronic switching by means of a poled electro-optic polymer.