Minimum detectable changes in Rayleigh backscatter from distributed fiber sensors

Brian K. Garside; R. E. Park

doi:10.1117/12.50174

1 December 1991 Minimum detectable changes in Rayleigh backscatter from distributed fiber sensors

Brian K. Garside, R. E. Park

Proceedings Volume 1588, Fiber Optic Smart Structures and Skins IV; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.50174
Event: OE Fiber, 1991, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

Rayleigh backscatter from (near) singlemode fibers can be measured with centimeter-scale resolution using a photon-counting optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) technique. It is shown that high resolution measurement of changes in backscatter signals can be constrained by spatially-varying polarization fluctuations in the backscatter signal, which can produce large changes in detected signals using a standard OTDR configuration. The magnitude of these effects is explored, and a means of minimizing their influence on the accuracy of loss measurement is described.

Citation Download Citation

Brian K. Garside and R. E. Park "Minimum detectable changes in Rayleigh backscatter from distributed fiber sensors", Proc. SPIE 1588, Fiber Optic Smart Structures and Skins IV, (1 December 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.50174

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