YORK, PA - Composite, non-metal structures used for a new generation of commercial aircraft may provide significant weight savings, but they are also less able to drain lightning strike currents, putting critical wiring and components at risk for electromagnetic interference (EMI). One solution is to replace electric wires with fiber optics that are immune to lightning and EMI, and also reduce the overall weight of wiring on board.
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Souriau (www.souriau.com) is contributing to this trend by developing what it calls “an even more extensively miniaturized, hardened solution for connectors.” Recently, the company unveiled two products under development: The Magnum ELIO connector (left photo), co-developed with Protokraft, features a standard eight one-way contact for converting one signal per fiber, and the QUADELIO (right photo) has an eight two-way or full-duplex contact able to perform electro-optical conversions for two signals at the same time (transmission and reception).
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Instead of converting the optical signal into an electrical one, and vice-versa, on the processor board, the Souriau technology presents a system where the electro-optical conversion is performed directly in a package that is the same size as a standard electrical contact. The company says its solution avoids having fiberoptics run through processor units, and retains the “electrical” design of electronic circuit boards right up to their output connector. Souriau also claims its technology will help aircraft component suppliers avoid extensive electronic and mechanical modifications.
As this issue of Connector Specifier was going to press, the Magnum ELIO and QUADELIO were undergoing qualification tests.
