Optical Zonu’s RF over Fiber Optics Links are used to transport the IF signal down-converted from an original satellite signal feed for applications such as Intra-Facility Links, GPS over optical fiber, LNB, deep-space research, fixed satellite and military communications. These RFoF products are capable of transporting all common Intermediate Frequency (IF) signals including 70/140 MHz, L (950 to 2150 MHz), S (2110 to 2500 MHz) and C (5900 to 6400 MHz) band radio frequency analog (RF) signals on fiber optic cables over long distances. Typically, the RFoF SatCom links receive the down-converted satellite signals from a remote Antenna and carry them to other locations which may be several kilometers away. Transporting such signals over fiber optic cable has advantages over using coax cable particularly for longer distances. Coax cable has a significant amount of signal loss over longer cable runs, limiting its application for long distance links. Unfortunately, high quality low-loss coax is very bulky and expensive. Coax cable often has a large diameter, making it very inflexible and difficult to manipulate. There is also a direct electrical connection between the antenna and expensive receiver equipment. This direct electrical connection may conduct destructive electrical surges from environmental sources such as such as lightning.
Optical fiber supports very long cable distances, up to 10 Km or more, with minimal signal loss and degradation. Due to SatCom’s low signal level at the transmitter site, it is critical to have a low Noise figure RFoF link, in order to transport such signals without it noise contamination. Optical Zonu offers built-in Low Noise Figure amplifiers in the optical transmitter to reduce the optical link NF to as low as 12 dB, improving signal quality substantially for these applications.
Optical fiber operates by transmitting light along a dielectric glass fiber, rather than electrical signals over copper wires. This provides a highly secure, tamper-proof medium for signal transfer, minimizing security risks and unauthorized signal interception concerns. Light is also unaffected by electro-magnetic interference, allowing signals to be transmitted unaffected through electrically noisy environments.
Optical Zonu offers a wide range of products in a variety of form factors for various SatCom applications. Our fiber optic Inter-Facility Links (IFL) are capable of providing long or short distance uplink/downlink solutions which may be achieved using our cost-effective isolated Fabry-Perot Lasers. Professional and more demanding long distance or multi-carrier CWDM applications may be met using our wide dynamic range, regular or cooled DFB Lasers – delivering excellent signal quality under a host of conditions.