Design and optimization of a fiber optic data link for new generation on-board SAR processing architectures

A fiber optic digital link for on - board data handling is modeled, designed and o ptimized in this paper. Design requirements and constraints relevant to the link, which is in the frame of novel on - board processing architectures, are dis c u s sed. Two possible link configurations are investigated, showing their advantages and disadvantages. An accurate mathematical model of each link component and the entire system is reported and results of link simulation based on th ose model s are presented. Finally, some details on the optimized design are provided.