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Space-grade Opto-electronic Interfaces for Photonic Digital and Analogue Very-high-throughput Satellite payloads

Project description

Photonic technology for very high-performance satellite payloads

Following their widespread installation within terrestrial data centres, photonics are gearing up for their penetration into modern communication satellites (COMSATs). The new COMSAT class is dubbed 'VHTS – Very High Throughput Satellite' and the increased capacity and low SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) targets that it has to deliver drives the migration towards photonics. This migration requires a new class of photonic building blocks – these are the opto-electronic (O/E) interfaces, i.e. transceivers, modulators and photodetectors. The current O/E component generation is still lacking in terms of speed, power consumption and size and an upgrade of performance accommodated by reliability has to be demonstrated. The EU-funded SIPhoDiAS project targets the development of this new component generation by leveraging reliable manufacturing, assembly and packaging technologies that exist within Europe.

Objective

The satellite market experiences a paradigm shift with the rise of VHTS that is challenging the capabilities of existing SatCom systems. Under increasing capacity/flexibility and stringent SWaP requirements primes are embracing a technology migration relying on photonics. TAS is the first prime to introduce optical interconnects in a commercial digital processor and this is expected to open the opportunity for photonics penetration in every part of the satellite payload (P/L). However the current critical photonic building blocks fail to deliver the big promise for high-performance and low SWaP photonics-enabled VHTS. These are the opto-electronic (O/E) interfaces - transceivers, modulators and photodetectors - that are deployed in the highest volumes and connect equipment at the edge and within the payload. They suffer from limitations in speed, bandwidth, reliability and most importantly size and power consumption which are still off-target, while most of them are available from US. SIPhoDiAS aims to advance these components to address O/E performance, size and power and at the same time enhance their reliability and demonstrate flight-ready parts at TRL 7, enabling for the first time photonic P/L systems that hit the right SWaP targets. SIPhoDiAS will deliver the following impressive advancements: up to 224 Gb/s radiation hard transceivers 4.5x faster and 8.5x more energy efficient than state-of-the-art (SOTA), 50 GHz modulators 2 times smaller having 7 times more bandwidth per unit area than SOTA, 40 GHz photo-detectors 50% lighter, with 4.5 times more bandwidth per unit area and 66% better responsivity. Modules will be system integrated and tested in representative sub-systems to show optical interconnect demonstrators running 350% faster with 80% less power and 50% less mass and photonic-RF frequency converters extended up to Q/V band (40-50 GHz) at 50% less mass. SIPhoDiAS technoloy will be made in Europe and will contribute to the European SatCom roadmaps.

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(opens in new window) H2020-SPACE-2018-2020

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Coordinator

LEO SPACE PHOTONICS R&D MONOPROSOPIIKE
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 443 125,00
Address
PATRIARCH GRIGORIOS AND NEAPOLEPOLEOS
15341 Agia Paraskevi
Greece

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Αττική Aττική Βόρειος Τομέας Αθηνών
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 443 125,00

Participants (6)

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