Space qualification of AWG-based FBG interrogators: the road toward CubeSat implementation [Invited]

Kirill Malakhov; Ilona Popova; Tatyana Meleshko; Egor Kovalev; Ivan Kazakov; Dmitry Ris; Dmitry Glushak; Pavel Kolesnikov; Artem Stebel’kov; Anna Rezaeva; Denis Levin; Sergei Ozherelyev; Yongkang Dong; Arkady Shipulin

doi:10.3788/COL202624.030011

Space qualification of AWG-based FBG interrogators: the road toward CubeSat implementation [Invited]

Kirill Malakhov^*
, Ilona Popova
, Tatyana Meleshko
, Egor Kovalev
, Ivan Kazakov
, Dmitry Ris
, Dmitry Glushak
, Pavel Kolesnikov
, Artem Stebel’kov
, Anna Rezaeva
, Denis Levin
, Sergei Ozherelyev
, Yongkang Dong
, Arkady Shipulin

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Astronautics

Project Center for Applied Photonics
Center for Digital Engineering
Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center
Moscow Engineering Physics Institute
Harbin Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a pathway to miniaturized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogators for structural health monitoring aboard satellites. However, the environmental resilience of PIC-based components remains insufficiently investigated compared to their discrete counterparts. This study reports the environmental testing of a silicon oxynitride arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) as a key component of an FBG interrogator, and presents an interrogator layout designed for the CubeSat form-factor. Vibration testing under Soyuz-2 launch profiles for secondary payloads confirmed the structural integrity of the AWG, with no performance degradation observed. Thermal vacuum cycling of AWG (−20°C to +80°C) revealed a linear spectral shift of (+11 ± 1) pm/°C across its channels, which is algorithmically compensable. γ-irradiation with a total ionizing dose of 2.8 krd induced a mean spectral shift of 63 pm in the AWG channels, indicating the necessity for radiation hardening measures. The presented study demonstrates the viability of AWG-based FBG interrogators for space applications.

Original language	English
Article number	30011
Journal	Chinese Optics Letters
Volume	24
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3788/COL202624.030011
State	Published - 10 Mar 2026

Keywords

CubeSat
arrayed waveguide grating
fiber Bragg grating
integrated photonics
interrogator
space qualification

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10.3788/COL202624.030011

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Malakhov, K., Popova, I., Meleshko, T., Kovalev, E., Kazakov, I., Ris, D., Glushak, D., Kolesnikov, P., Stebel’kov, A., Rezaeva, A., Levin, D., Ozherelyev, S., Dong, Y., & Shipulin, A. (2026). Space qualification of AWG-based FBG interrogators: the road toward CubeSat implementation [Invited]. Chinese Optics Letters, 24(3), Article 30011. https://doi.org/10.3788/COL202624.030011

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abstract = "Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a pathway to miniaturized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogators for structural health monitoring aboard satellites. However, the environmental resilience of PIC-based components remains insufficiently investigated compared to their discrete counterparts. This study reports the environmental testing of a silicon oxynitride arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) as a key component of an FBG interrogator, and presents an interrogator layout designed for the CubeSat form-factor. Vibration testing under Soyuz-2 launch profiles for secondary payloads confirmed the structural integrity of the AWG, with no performance degradation observed. Thermal vacuum cycling of AWG (−20°C to +80°C) revealed a linear spectral shift of (+11 ± 1) pm/°C across its channels, which is algorithmically compensable. γ-irradiation with a total ionizing dose of 2.8 krd induced a mean spectral shift of 63 pm in the AWG channels, indicating the necessity for radiation hardening measures. The presented study demonstrates the viability of AWG-based FBG interrogators for space applications.",

keywords = "CubeSat, arrayed waveguide grating, fiber Bragg grating, integrated photonics, interrogator, space qualification",

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T2 - the road toward CubeSat implementation [Invited]

AU - Malakhov, Kirill

AU - Popova, Ilona

AU - Meleshko, Tatyana

AU - Kovalev, Egor

AU - Kazakov, Ivan

AU - Ris, Dmitry

AU - Glushak, Dmitry

AU - Kolesnikov, Pavel

AU - Stebel’kov, Artem

AU - Rezaeva, Anna

AU - Levin, Denis

AU - Ozherelyev, Sergei

AU - Dong, Yongkang

AU - Shipulin, Arkady

PY - 2026/3/10

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N2 - Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a pathway to miniaturized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogators for structural health monitoring aboard satellites. However, the environmental resilience of PIC-based components remains insufficiently investigated compared to their discrete counterparts. This study reports the environmental testing of a silicon oxynitride arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) as a key component of an FBG interrogator, and presents an interrogator layout designed for the CubeSat form-factor. Vibration testing under Soyuz-2 launch profiles for secondary payloads confirmed the structural integrity of the AWG, with no performance degradation observed. Thermal vacuum cycling of AWG (−20°C to +80°C) revealed a linear spectral shift of (+11 ± 1) pm/°C across its channels, which is algorithmically compensable. γ-irradiation with a total ionizing dose of 2.8 krd induced a mean spectral shift of 63 pm in the AWG channels, indicating the necessity for radiation hardening measures. The presented study demonstrates the viability of AWG-based FBG interrogators for space applications.

AB - Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a pathway to miniaturized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogators for structural health monitoring aboard satellites. However, the environmental resilience of PIC-based components remains insufficiently investigated compared to their discrete counterparts. This study reports the environmental testing of a silicon oxynitride arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) as a key component of an FBG interrogator, and presents an interrogator layout designed for the CubeSat form-factor. Vibration testing under Soyuz-2 launch profiles for secondary payloads confirmed the structural integrity of the AWG, with no performance degradation observed. Thermal vacuum cycling of AWG (−20°C to +80°C) revealed a linear spectral shift of (+11 ± 1) pm/°C across its channels, which is algorithmically compensable. γ-irradiation with a total ionizing dose of 2.8 krd induced a mean spectral shift of 63 pm in the AWG channels, indicating the necessity for radiation hardening measures. The presented study demonstrates the viability of AWG-based FBG interrogators for space applications.

KW - CubeSat

KW - arrayed waveguide grating

KW - fiber Bragg grating

KW - integrated photonics

KW - interrogator

KW - space qualification

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DO - 10.3788/COL202624.030011

M3 - 文章

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JO - Chinese Optics Letters

JF - Chinese Optics Letters

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ER -

Space qualification of AWG-based FBG interrogators: the road toward CubeSat implementation [Invited]

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Keywords

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