VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND LTD Photo: ESA Fiber-optic transceivers for multi-gigabit interconnects in space systems at EPIC Tech Watch of Micro Photonics Expo, Berlin, 11 Oct 2016 Mikko Karppinen(mikko.karppinen@vtt.fi)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd A leading R&D organisation in Nordic countries We provide expert services for our domestic and international customers and partners, both in private and public sectors TOP 2 VTT is second most active patenting organisation in Finland (2014) 36% of Finnish innovations include VTT expertise We use 4 million hours of brainpower a year to develop new technological solutions Net turnover and other operating income 272 M for VTT Group in 2015 (VTT Group s turnover 185 M in 2015) Personnel 2,470 (VTT Group 31.12.2015 ) Unique research and testing infrastructure Wide national and international cooperation network 28/10/2016 2
Market need: Novel payloads call for high-speed intra-system communications on-board satellites High-performance scientific & observation instruments, such as: synthetic aperture radars, high-resolution cameras, fast image compression processors Data throughput of telecom satellites expanding with emerging flexible and broadband payloads: multi-beam coverage, 100's of channels => Increasing on-board processing for filtering, switching and beam-forming 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 3
Answer is to use optical communications Main advantages of fiber-optic links on satellite payloads: Lightweight cabling, immune to EMI High-bit rates (good signal quality) Removes distance limitations Weight costs Opto vs copper: mass & volume savings Photo: ESA => Need robust multi-gigabit optical interconnection components which have low power dissipation (due to tight power constraints on satellite) survive hostile environment, with >15 years lifetime, including: Vibrations and shocks Wide temperature range Radiation hardened 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 4
Photonics modules for harsh environments VTT s photonics integration & packaging competences: Robust metal-ceramic photonics packaging with hermetic optical feedthroughs High-speed electronics integration Design: electronics, optics, mechanical, thermal Manufacturing of circuit boards High-precision Assembly Characterisation and testing Ceramic micromodule platform 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 5
SpaceFibre High-Speed Fibre-Optic Link SpaceFibre is a high-speed extension to SpaceWire standard: Point-to-point communication with 1 10 Gbps data rates over 100 m. Status: Fiber-optic Phy Layer part of the standard is agreed late 2016. VTT has developed transceiver components for SpaceFibre, based on: 850 nm VCSEL lasers => Lowest power-per-bit efficiency of the short range links; high integration density; mature; reliable; radiation tolerant 50/125 µm silica fiber => enough bandwidth; robust; rad-hard available 1 st SpFi transceiver proto (3 Gbps) Engineering Model of SpFi transceiver (6.25 Gbps) 3 rd Gen SpFi transceiver (6.25 Gbps) 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 6
Example: 6.25 Gbps 850-nm Transceiver for Harsh Environment Up to 6.25 Gbps full-duplex data link for short range applications Protocol independent; but compatible with SpaceFibre physical layer Power consumption 210 mw (typical) 50/125 µm multimode fiber pigtails CML input VCSEL driver VCSEL Optical fibre Photo diode TIA & LIA CML output CML output TIA & LIA Photo diode Optical fibre VCSEL VCSEL TIA driver & LIA CML input Transceiver module Transceiver module Data link functional diagram SolidOptoSPFI transceiver with Radiall LuxCis connectors 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 7
Structure of 6.25 Gbps SpaceFibre Transceiver Hermetic glass-metal fiber feedthroughs Kovar frame VCSEL TOSA (SiGe driver on package carrier) Electrical contacts on the module bottom ROSA with InP-based Rx IC Ceramic substrate (LTCC) SolidOpto SpFi Transceiver without metal lid (package dimensions 17 x 17 x 5 mm 3 ) 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 8
Developed and tested for extreme environment Wide Temperature range: Operation -40 +85 C, possibly wider Storage -55 +125 C Hermetically sealed (e.g. passes >1000 temperature cycles -55 +125 C) Vacuum compatible: no outgassing Mechanical Shock (tested 3000 g) and Vibration (tested 50 g rms ) Radiation resistant: gamma, protons, heavy ions (e.g. no latch-ups with heavy ions, tested up to LET 65 MeV/mg/cm 2 ) Space/avionic-grade fibre pigtail and connector 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 9
Towards extensive use of optical interconnections on satellite payloads Space industry and European Space Agency are pushing the development of digital optical data links ESA s activites(roadmap): Thales Alenia Space DAS Photonics Low/medium rate links, Active optical cables (replacing copper) Parallel multi-gigabit interconnects for on-board processors (optics next to the ASIC/FPGA) By RUAG Optical harness on SMOS (launch 2009, 1 st extensive utilization by ESA) Multi-gigabit data links (SpaceFibre) 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 10
Developing Next Gen Transceivers Multi-Gigabit, Scalable & Energy Efficient on-board Digital Processors Employing Multicore, Vertical, Embedded Optoelectronic Engines Ruggedized optical transceiver engines Very wide temp range, up to 100 C Low power (<10mW / Gb/s) Data rate of 150 Gbps per fiber (and beyond) 6 cores x 25 Gbps/channel Very dense integration by the use of: Novel rad-hard 6-core multimode fibers Multicore-optimized VCSEL & PD arrays Rad-hard multi-channel ASICs (>25 Gbps/ch) Transceiver 125 µm Multicore fiber ( OFS) Project partners: www.space-merlin.eu Part of 6x25Gbps ROSA 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 11
Summary VTT developed high-bit-rate data links for satellite payloads with transceivers based on: Advanced metal-ceramic photonics packaging 850-nm VCSELs and multimode fibers Benefits Significant savings in mass and volume Removes distance limitations and Reduces EMI Robust and reliable in harsh environment Other applications: Avionics, Military, Radiative environments, Harsh environment sensor systems, etc. 1 10 Gbps technology ready Multi-channels up to 25 Gbps/ch under development 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 12
Thank you! For further information please contact: Mikko Karppinen, D.Sc. Senior Scientist Photonics Integration VTT Ltd Kaitoväylä 1, P.O. Box 1100 FI-90571 Oulu, Finland tel. +358 20 722 2293 (direct/mobile) mikko.karppinen@vtt.fi www.vtt.fi 28/10/2016 - VTT Ltd 13
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