In aerospace systems, optical passive components play an important role. Primarily, they are used to carry out the telescope’s mission. Also, they help in establishing as well as extending communications in space missions.
The use of optical passive components in aerospace systems is very wide. It’s very difficult to list them all together. Something or the other gets missed out. The surprising part is that all the names in the list of optical passive components are useful in aerospace systems.
As optical passive components are crucial in aerospace systems, you should be very particular about their design and development. You cannot assume things and expect the components to deliver good results. It’s better to customize the components as per your requirements. And for this, you should work with an experienced and reputable optical passive components designer.
You should perform thermal analysis
Constant cycling of temperature in space is one of the biggest challenges for aerospace systems. The temperature ranges from extremely cold to severely hot within hours. To overcome this problem, you should perform a thermal analysis.
With this analysis and testing, you will ensure that your components, boards, and devices can withstand the temperature swings. Deployment of the components will be easy in the changing temperature. a
You should do this analysis in addition to electro-thermal stimulation of the PCB layouts before fabrication. Other than this, you should consider thermal dissipation and distribution during manufacturing.
You should apply parameter-based materials selection
The materials for optical passive component designing should be selected based on different parameters. The parameters are defined to ensure the long-term usage of the components in aerospace systems.
The two important parameters are mechanical and thermal. These parameters show the capability of the components to withstand the pressure and temperature challenges of space deployment.
You should ensure good soldering and PTH fill quality
Another potential problem of optical passive components in aerospace systems is outgassing, meaning condensation on lenses and absorption or diffraction prevention. This is caused by the release of trapped gas.
The release of trapped gas can be stopped with good solder connections and vias. So, you should make sure that your optical passive components designer applies good quality control to the assembly process.
You should keep the boards clean and properly packed
You cannot forget contamination issues associated with optical components used in aerospace systems. Even small amounts of debris or contamination disrupt or cease the operation of the systems. The ability of light to cross material boundaries gets disrupted.
You can prevent contamination and any disruption to operation by cleaning, coating, and following good package and storage guidelines. The components should be assembled in certified clean rooms and sealing should be done strongly. If the boards have been in storage for long periods before deployment, you should bake them.
Optical passive components provide several advantages to aerospace systems over other electronic options. This is just the beginning. In the future, utilization of the components is going to increase. So, you should follow the designing tips discussed in this post for better performance of aerospace systems with the help of the best optical passive components designer.