NASA applications encompass the entire range of integrated systems in space combining both optical and electronic capability. Current and future satellites include 1)sensing in the uv, visible, NIR, MWIR, LWIR, VLWIR, 2)radar and communications in the mmw ¿¿ THz region, 3)computation and digital signal processing, 3)laser communications transceiver functions and fiber optic interconnect throughout the satellite, 3)all-optical-switching including the router, the switching fabric and the control function and 4)optical arrays. A prominent application is the RF phased array combined with optical arrays in the same aperture which represent a multitude of sensors mounted on the satellite external surfaces covering wide bands in the mm wave band and separately in the optical spectrum. The POET technology base has great potential to address this sensing with unique ability to collapse the sensors into a single aperture. Simultaneously POET address many internal computational requirements related to on-board communications.
Phased arrays with electronic scanning represent a huge future commercial market in the wireless, security and free space optics communications industries. The optoelectronic integration platform being developed here provides a cost effective approach to combine optical and electronic device capabilities from which to generate the components for computer buses, AD converters, optical data links, optical switching matrices, optical routers, optical memories and many more yet to be identified. The integrated approach is the key to reduced cost and improved reliability.
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