The design of some communication systems requires the implementation of time delays within the system. These time delays can be accomplished with a variety of optics technologies, which could be readily fabricated and integrated into the communication system without significant impacts on the system design. We describe three different potential applications of optics designs, which could be implemented to accomplish the time delay requirements associated with communication systems. One application would be in Ku/Ka band phased array antennas, where the optics application provides the time delay to the various transmit/receive units in the phased array to accomplish beam forming and switching. Another application would be in an aircraft interference cancellation system. Yet another application would be in a satellite communication test system, where the propagation time to the satellite (for synchronous satellites a nominal 36,000 km) needs to be simulated for ground testing with the earth terminals. Optical modules could be used for some applications, and optics technologies have the potential to be used for a wide range of applications in communication systems.
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