Cabling using Rugged Wavelength Division Multiplexing (MiPON) Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-029 Topic Title: Cabling using Rugged Wavelength Division Multiplexing (MiPON) Proposal No.: N161-029-0843 Firm: Scientific & Biomedical Microsystems 806 Cromwell Park Drive, Suite R Glen Burnie, Maryland 21061 Contact: Michael Dickerson Phone: (410) 766-4700 Web Site: http://www.sbmicrosystems.us Abstract: Scientific & Biomedical Microsystems (SBM) proposes the development of a dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) application relying on channel based encoding combined with endpoint authentication to create high bandwidth density. Separate control channels allow for high reliability to be achieved and ongoing performance monitoring and fault localization to be aggregated. The DWDM approach to increasing optical fiber capacity has been industry standard in the telecommunications industry since the early 2000s. Numerous commercial implementations exist that can combing hundreds of independent optical channels. SBM's approach includes electrical to optical conversion and optical multiplexing to create a multiprotocol solution within a DWDM architecture similar to telecommunications standards. Additional redundancy and performance monitoring creates a robust and flexible solution allowing for significant performance improvements without substantial reconfiguration and infrastructure changes to existing cable plants. Benefits: Scientific & Biomedical Microsystems (SBM) will deliver and develop a multicast integrated passive optical network (MIPON). While MIPON is being proposed for Aegis-class applications, the networking architecture is applicable for other military applications where remote high-bandwidth sensors are connected to central processing terminals. The submarine community, due to their specific weight and size constraints, make an excellent target customer for this technology. Outside of ships, many applications have solved high bandwidth constraints with adding additional transmission channels and utilizing high-cost routers and switches to build data center style networks, where network connections are symmetrical and little knowledge of typical data streams is used in designing the network topology or selecting equipment. As bandwidth needs increase in a data center style network, routers and switches must be discarded or upgraded to support higher traffic on individual links. Mixing network communication protocols (Ethernet, SONET, IP, etc) adds additional complexity and cost to the systems. Traditionally, WDM based approaches have been used exclusively in the high-bandwidth core of networks, often as part of long-haul site-to-site links. MIPON will not attempt to commercialize in this market, instead targeting the network edge customers. MIPON's competitive advantage is the ability to support diverse protocols over a single fiber and maintaining backward and forward compatibility. Service providers will be able to leverage the ability to upgrade their data aggregation network on a customer-by-customer basis while providing significant bandwidth improvements to the edge of their networks. The MIPON architecture will be valuable to target markets where large amounts of data are generated and delivered to one or more control stations for processing. Some markets that face these challenges include broadcast television, financial trading, universities, and cloud computing providers. Switching from a traditionally routed network to a MIPON-based architecture can provide significant performance gains at a lower cost of ownership. The ability to provide both secure and unsecured streams over the same fiber also will provide significant value to these industries. SBM also believes there is additional commercialization potential as a consulting or services provider towards network topologies and implementation. Based on SBM's business model, the Phase II commercialization strategy will involve the development of a supply chain and strategic partners for contract manufacturing and distribution. Development of a Sales & Marketing channel would be undertaken (likely through a third-party distributor model), and outside (non-SBIR) funding would be sought for the ramp-up to market introduction. It is very likely that SBM would follow, at the appropriate product maturity, either a licensing model to an established player in the target market, or spinout of a separate company to market and distribute the product. Both of these options are consistent with SBMs' long-term business strategy, and these strategies have been pursued successfully in the past of the company's 10 year history. Return