美国空军认为,光子设备是21世纪武器系统电子设备的后继者,它正在沿着三条平行的道路发展,但发展速度不一定相同。 领头的是光纤数据分配网络,它将电子信号转为光子流,以便在机载系统内进行大容量可靠的信息传输。 其次是模拟式光学设备,用以代替像雷达之类的前端传感器,以便进一步增加带宽和减小易探测性。 The U.S. Air Force believes that photonics devices are the successors to 21st-century weapon system electronic devices that are moving along three parallel paths, but not necessarily at the same rate. Led by fiber optic data distribution networks, it converts electrical signals into photonic streams for large, reliable information transfer within airborne systems. This is followed by analogue optics to replace front-end sensors like radar in order to further increase bandwidth and reduce detectability.