High-Speed Free-Space Optical Link for Cryogenic Focal Plane Array Read-Out

The team led by Freedom Photonics will develop in this program a novel free-space optical (FSO) link that will enable high-speed interconnects operating at multi-tens of Gbps, which are required for the newer, cryogenically cooled, large format, high definition (HD), fast frame rate, focal plane array (FPA) readout integrated circuits (ROIC). By using free-space optics to collect data from the ROIC through a window in the dewar, it is possible not only to provide a large bandwidth interconnect but to also eliminate the thermal conduction losses through copper wires, which in turn will reduce the Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) of the system. The proposed FSO interconnect architecture offers the most practical approach to providing the high bandwidth required to make military imaging possible at much higher frame rates and with larger format FPAs.