Micro-Optical Rotary Joint for multichannel communication via a ro-tating interface

摘要

Data transmission between rotating and stationary systems, e.g. required for radar antennas or for undersea cable installation ships can be realized with so called rotary joints. For the transmission of several high bit rate optical data channels a micro optical rotary joint is now available which guarantees a dead reliable, low loss transmission for up to 21 parallel single mode channels. The free space transmission in the rotary joint implicates a highly precise collimation of the parallel channels. For this purpose compact two dimensional fiber collimator arrays based on micro lens arrays have been developed. These arrays and the complete opto-mechanical system are designed with the help of tolerance analysis using Monte Carlo simulations. Besides these results also some more information on the behavior and the characteristics of the micro optical rotary joint under real conditions which demonstrate the excellent characteristics of this novel system will be given.