Indium Phosphide (InP) Integrated Photonics Evaluation (ACO: InP)
Project Description
The objective of this task is to utilize NASA GSFC's expertise and facilities to assess the space environmental durability of a commercial InP platform, developed by Freedom Photonics. The size, weight, and power benefits of a Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) could have a significant impact on missions relying on communication subsystems, in particular High Throughput Satellites in GEO, and cubesats. The use of commercial PICs instead of very expensive customized integrated packages and discrete components would be of benefit for both NASA and SSL in future optical payloads. The NASA GSFC Photonics Group is actively engaged in the evaluation and development of photonics technologies at the component level to meet the communications requirements of future NASA missions.
More »Anticipated Benefits
This collaboration between SSL and GSFC is a critical step for advancing the maturity of radiation hardened InP components for satellites and evaluating next generation integrated architectures of photonic components combined at the chip level into a single package. Integrated photonics has an enormous potential for significantly improving the performance of the system due to the close proximity of the functions, while also significantly reducing the size, weight, and power (SWAP).
More »Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Virginia
