Optical Zonu Satcom RF over Fiber signal transport solutions provide seamless coverage for all antenna systems regardless of operating environment. RF over Fiber provides a simple, cost-effective and reliable RF connection between satellite antenna and modem in those instances where coaxial cable is impractical.

There are many advantages of transporting RF signals over fiber as opposed to coaxial cable. A primary reason for fiber transport is the high RF attenuation of coaxial cabling. For example, at 6 GHz, the RF attenuation of RG-6 is ~30 dB over 100 feet. On the other hand, RF loss through fiber is ~ 0.7 dB/km independent of RF frequency. Optical Zonu fiber links transport from UHF/VHF up to Ka-Band, and above. An additional benefit of transporting RF signals over fiber is security. Optical fiber does not radiate electromagnetic energy; therefore, it is not easily detected.

Typically, the RFoF or analog over fiber Satcom links receive the down-converted satellite signals from a remote Antenna and carry them to other locations which may be 100s of meters to kilometers away. High quality low-loss coax is very bulky and expensive. Coaxial cable often has a large diameter, making it 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 lightning.

Due to low received signal level at the antenna site, it is critical to have a low Noise figure RFoF link, in order to transport such signals without 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-resistant 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 a variety of applications. Fiber optic Inter-Facility Links (IFL) are capable of providing long or short distance uplink/downlink solutions which may be achieved using cost-effective isolated DFB lasers. Professional and more demanding long distance or multi-carrier CWDM applications may be met using wide dynamic range, cooled or uncooled DFB Lasers – delivering excellent signal quality in a variety of conditions.

Optical Zonu fiber transmitters are available in CWDM and DWDM wavelengths, hence multiple RF signals may be multiplexed onto a single fiber for transport. Optical Zonu subsystem solutions may be monitored and controlled via SNMP v2 and v3. Optical Zonu also provides Ethernet over fiber datalinks for the purpose of data transport, as well as facilitating the monitoring of remote equipment over fiber.