Patent 7684695 was granted and assigned to Lockheed Martin on March, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
One apparatus embodiment includes a first light source, a second light source, and a receiver having a photodetector. The first light source emits a first signal at a nonvisible wavelength for data transmission. The second light source emits a second signal at a visible wavelength for fault detection when combined with the first signal for transmission over a fiber optic path. The receiver converts the first signal from the nonvisible wavelength to an electrical signal.