New-Tech Europe | Oct 2016 | Special Edition For Electronica 2016

units to in-flight entertainment system manufacturers are also designing new power supplies as well as wireless hardware and lighting systems. Some Aircraft manufacturers are also conducting flight simulation tests on fibre optic systems for future modifications and updates of cabin systems. Another key area for design engineers to focus on in addition to the rapid growth in the number of fibre optic systems, the density of the PCBs will increase and the size of the boxes housing them will decrease. This has already occurred in laptops and other personal electronic devices, and the industry will soon see this within in-flight entertainment systems. In the not-so-distant future, all phones in the backs of the seats will disappear while the big boxes under the seat, although growing smaller, will still contain seat power, hubs, and access points, along with more functionality. For on-board system designers to meet such needs, the use of fibre optic interconnects will become a mandatory requirement.

can typically be smaller compared to copper-based products that have equal or less information through- put. As boxes become smaller in size with increased bandwidth, output requirements become a key design factor. It goes without saying that weight impacts directly on payload capacity and related fuel usage – so the lighter the better, and fibre optics provide greater bandwidth for transmitting information. This is particularly helpful when trying to maintain high-level signal integrity during the uploading/downloading of video and audio files. One option in development is fibre optic flex planes. Flex planes, with fibres embedded in an engineering plastic sheet, can greatly reduce weight and cross-sectional area of a data system. The conformability helps manufacturing and the weight savings enhances fuel efficiency for the life of the aircraft. Whereas copper cables (with their higher weight) require quite heavy fixtures, ribbon fibre can be easily attached without additional mechanical fixtures. Turning on to Light Companies that provide cabling interconnects for printed circuit boards (PCBs) and PCB box

Network Box In addition to the rapid growth in the number of fibre optic systems, the density of the PCBs and size of the boxes housing them will decrease

Thomas Heller, account manager, aerospace and defence, Molex.

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