Analysis of Fiber-Optic Links for HF Antenna Remoting

This report describes a fiber-optic link design for the long-haul remoting of HF antennas. The link presented here is intended for remoting the antenna element a distance upwards of 7.0 km (4.3 mi) but the theoretical treatment allows for the design and analysis of links for greater stand offs. The analysis is carried out using well-established theory and verifying experimental data are employed throughout. A complete list of supporting references is also provided. The fiber-optic link performance is summarized as a 7-km point-to-point link with a single radio-frequency input and output having the following performance metrics over the 2-30 MHz range: -0.86 dB gain, 21 dB noise figure,116.7 dB-Hz^ 2/3 spurious-free dynamic range above 1-Hz bandwidth, and 0.14 deg/deg C phase stability over temperature. These metrics are for the fiber-optic link only and throughout the report we compare this performance to various all-electric systems demonstrating that the fiber link is suitable for HF applications.