High Speed Optical Rotary Joint

This proposal is for the development of an advanced off-axis High Speed Optical Rotary Joint with the objective of increasing bandwidth capability to 200Mb/sec. Existing on-axis optical rotary joints typically can operate at these speeds. However, there are many applications which require an off-axis rotary joint to provide center line access for hydraulic, pneumatic or cryogenic transfer lines. Accordingly, the off-axis High Speed Optical Rotary Joint will be the main focus of this proposal.Present state-of-the-art, off-axis slip ring assemblies provide full duplex operation, but can only provide about 50Mb/sec bandwidth at about 50RPM rotational speed. There is a significant and continuing need for very high bandwidth, off-axis optical slip-rings in the medical equipment area, the commercial/industrial areas, as well as the military. As sensors become less expensive and smaller, more sensors are being used in more places throughout electromechanical systems. The increasing use of video camera on instruments and machines, both in the commercial/industrial and military arenas significantly increases the bandwidth required to provide real-time data and decision making capabilities. Foster-Miller, in conjunction with Litton Poly-Scientific intends to increase the capabilities of off-axis optical rotary joints to 200Mb/sec bandwidth at much higher rotational speeds. In the interest of completeness, we will also discuss a patented on-axis, multifiber, multichannel, full duplex solution offering similar performance.