SAE AIR5601

This SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) is devoted to the challenges of applying optics to new advanced RF analog systems only; digital data link applications are covered elsewhere in protocol/architecture specific documents like Fibre Channel, ATM, Ethernet, Sonet, etc. This document has four main goals: 1. To completely cover today's capabilities and limitations of fiber in meeting multiple types of advanced RF system requirements. 2. To discuss near term advancements being developed that will bring us closer to meeting all the capabilities of current copper coax systems. 3. To identify the benefits of fiber optics for RF systems 4. To identify challenges for future development.