A 3U cubesat to investigate erbium doped fiber degradation at low earth orbit

Abstract

The next generation of telecommunication satellites operating in the Ku and Ka bands consider radio over optical fiber (RoF) technologies as a good candidate for the future flexible payloads. In this context we have started a 3U nanosatellite dedicated to the qualification of an erbium doped fiber by using an optoelectronic metrology technique. This educational project called NIMPH (Nanosatellite to Investigate Microwave Photonics Hardware) aims to quantify the gain and noise figure degradation due to cosmic ray exposure of this type of fiber during a two years mission at a low earth orbit (LEO).