Harris Corporation

David Graves

Robert Morris Montgomery

Christopher J Hall

Calvin Lee Adkins

Greg K Daugherty

Ed Bryant

A system for conveying a signal by optical fiber may include a converter for converting a radio frequency signal to an optical frequency signal, the converter having an interferometer modulator for providing a carrier suppressed optical frequency signal having a sideband modulated by the radio frequency signal, an optical amplifier for amplifying the modulated sideband before transmission on an optical fiber by an amount that is greater than or approximates the transmission loss in the system, a local oscillator, a coupler, and detector for converting (superheterodyning) the modulated sideband from the optical fiber to a predetermined intermediate radio frequency.

Double side band, carrier suppressed modulated coherent fiber optic link

An optical device and method for sensing a plurality of ambient conditions (e.g., temperature and pressure) may include transmission of an optical flux through a fiber optic cable to a section of the cable that is placed where the ambient conditions are to be sensed. The section of cable includes a plurality of serially aligned sensors for reflecting the optical flux back through the cable, each of the sensors having semi-reflective surfaces at the two ends thereof for partially reflecting the optical flux. The distance between the two ends of each sensor varies primarily as a function of a different one of the ambient conditions. The optical flux is partially transmitted and partially reflected at each of the ends of the sensors and the optical flux reflected back through the cable includes an interference pattern that is a function of each sensor's end-to-end distance. A detector evaluates the interference pattern to determine the ambient conditions. The evaluation of the interference pattern may be simplified by properly selecting the reflectivity of the ends of the sensors.

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Palm Bay, FL, United States of America

David Graves