Fiber optic measurement considerations for the aerospace industry: Lessons learned from telecommunications

Our world is filled with optical fibers carrying information across the room or around the world at rates of up to 25.6 terabits per second. This astounding capacity is the result of about 40 years of development. An integral part of this was the accompanying measurements for characterizing optical fiber and its supporting components. Here we describe some of the optical fiber metrology measurement lessons learned from the telecommunications industry, with the goal of identifying applications for aerospace. We limit our discussion to single-mode fiber issues.