Copper, fiber-optic and carbon nanotube technologies for next generation military information systems

Key parameters such as power dissipation, switching delay, crosstalk and error rates are important for overall information system performance and next generation military applications such as communications, data transfer and beam forming networks for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. For the DoD and aerospace community, the electronic battlespace has evolved to a wideband environment that continuously expands. Next-generation electronically scanned array (ESA) requirements will include receive apertures with high gain, low sidelobes, continuous wideband, dual polarization multifunctional output, transmit power similar to or greater than current systems and transmit/receive (T/R) modules located at the array element. RF photonics insertion into antenna systems may expand in areas including RF pre-processing and filtering, RF front-end technology, analog-to-digital conversion and beam forming networks for both manned and unmanned ISR applications. Microwave photonic and carbon nanotube (CNT) links may appear frequently in future military antenna systems as photonic and CNT link performance continues to improve, The selection and integration of next-generation high-speed interconnect technologies will include an intelligent combination of copper, fiber optics and the emerging field of carbon nanotube technology. We will present a comparison of the physical and electromagnetic properties of copper, fiber optics and carbon nanotubes and some of the requirements for next-generation high-speed interconnect technologies for manned and unmanned system applications.