System Design

The fundamental element of a reliable, functional aerospace fiber optic application is the system design. It is the system designers' task to define the most efficient and cost effective methods of transmitting the optical signal, while providing a physical layer with sufficient performance, reliability, and availability for the application.

This document provides guidance on key areas of system design to achieve this goal:

• Section 3.0, System Definition, describes the system requirements information that is necessary to begin the process and the topology options available to a system designer.

• Section 4.0, System Design, describes the process that a system designer should go through when deciding on a network design or topology for a particular application including the procedure of power budgeting.

• Section 5.0, Component Selection, covers the actual hardware options that the designer will need to select.

Topology design, power budgeting, and component selection are discussed in that order but in reality, system design is an iterative process and all three topics should be considered in parallel.

Additional sections provide guidance on system design considerations for aircraft installation and safety.

Information defined in the ASSC/120/2/81: Guide to Avionic Fiber Optic System Design document and European Norm EN 4533: Fiber Optics Handbook has been used extensively in the preparation of this document.

Purpose of this Document

The purpose of ARINC Report 803 is to provide design and implementation guidelines together with a selection guide providing a fiber optic system design engineer with documentation to assess the design requirements for an aerospace fiber optic installation.

The purpose of these guidelines is to assist in the identification and implementation of design requirements for aerospace fiber optic based systems. The specification also includes recommendations for good practice and aspects of system testing.

Appendices to this standard cover the particular case of system design for ARINC Specification 664 compliant networks over a fiber optic physical layer including an equipment interface specification to ensure interoperability of ARINC Specification 664 equipment.