A Millimeter Wave, Wireless, LAN for Use Inside an Aircraft

A Millimeter Wave, Wireless, Local Area Network has been built for use in distributing digital data inside an aircraft. To avoid interference with existing VHF and Microwave transmitters and receivers, the transmitters operate at 60.60 Ghz and 60.54 Ghz. This region of the Millimeter Wave Spectrum has high attenuation being the resonant frequency of local oxygen atoms. This isolates the wireless links from most interference. The transceivers employ V-Band Gunn Diode Voltage-Controlled Oscillators. The maximum range is 150 meters. The network boards have been optimized for Mil-Spec-1553 type digital messages. A wide variety of other digital formats can be supported from 200 Khz up to video rates, but analog video sent through the system was too noisy for conventional television receivers. This paper describes the rationale, the system requirements, the development, the final design, and the test results.