ALT ODL

Our RADAR Altimeter Optical delay Line (ALT ODL) is typically used for test and calibration. It is an efficient, compact and accurate instrument used to simulate, roundtrip altitudes, range and distances during RADAR and Altimeter production and test.

Our ALT ODL product family addresses a growing demand for test and calibration of Altimeter radars. It represents the optical delay in terms of altitude, range or distance (two-way). ALT ODL products typically operate below 6GHz in the L, S and C bands. They use our direct modulation programmable RFoF converters. A fixed altitude ALT ODL with altitudes up to 15000ft may be provided in a Mini-ODL enclosure.

The RF input signal is converted into a modulated optical signal, which is then transmitted into a single mode fiber, creating a fixed time delay defined by the fiber length corresponding to a desired altitude. After passing through the fiber, the optical signal is converted back into an electrical RF signal, identical to the input RF signal.
The ALT ODL can be configured to emulate a single altitude or up to more than 2 ²⁴ altitude steps (24bits) with a minimum step of 0.5ft (15cm).

Use the RFQ form to submit a complete definition of an ALT ODL requirement. The form prompts specifying the properties of the desired ODL including:

• Frequency range
• Altitude, range or distance value or range and step
• Zero state, bypass option
• RF input power, max. receiver bandwidth
• Gain
• Delay switching speed, control
• Enclosure, power
• Other requirements

The Altimeter ODL offers very high accuracy better than 0.3ft (10cm) in the smallest main segments for altitude steps under 6ft and >0.1% above. The maximum altitude can reach 100,000 feet or 30Km in one enclosure.

The Mini Optical ALT ODL provides a compact, high performance solution for testing and calibrating radar systems featuring accurate time delay with ultra low noise. ALT ODL solutions up to 6 GHz are based on direct modulation Programmable RFoF, while for higher frequencies indirect modulation RFoF is preferred.