Attenuation measurement of optical fibers for sensor technology

Abstract

Generally the attenuation of optical fibers used for sensor technology is higher than that of fibers for telecommunications. This is difficult to measure by the optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR). This paper presents a simple method that employs an integrating sphere. The total and scattering attenuation coefficients can be calculated and discriminated by the measured power of the light scattered out of the optical fiber and collected by the integrating sphere.     

分布式光纤温度压力传感器设计

为了实现油田井下温度压力的全分布式测量,提出了一种基于光纤散射原理的分布式温度压力测量方法。该方法通过对普通光纤进行封装设计,制作成传感光纤。由于光纤传感器周围流体的温度和压力会对传感光纤内的散射光产生调制作用,通过光纤解调仪解调出光纤拉曼散射参数和布里渊散射频移就能够实现温度和压力的实时在线测量。实验结果表明:设计的分布式光纤温度压力传感器可以实现的温度测量分辨率为0.1 ℃,压力测量分辨率为0.07 MPa。基本满足油田井下温度压力测量的全分布式、实时在线、可靠性高、精度高、抗干扰能力强等要求。     

Scattering loss in Nd-doped silica based optical fibers

Rare-earth doped fibers suffer from relatively high attenuation in comparison to conventional communication fibers. In order to improve the properties of such fibers, understanding of the mechanisms involved in scattering effects is of great importance. The effect of Nd-doping, Al-codoping and of the drawing temperature on the scattering effect was investigated for several different optical fibers. To this end a measuring setup was realized which allows absolute measurements of the scattering coefficient at different positions along a fiber. Also separation of total attenuation and scattering effects is possible. The presented results indicate scattering effects as primary source for increased attenuation compared with undoped fibers.     

Scattering loss in Nd-doped silica based optical fibers

Rare-earth doped fibers suffer from relatively high attenuation in comparison to conventional communication fibers. In order to improve the properties of such fibers, understanding of the mechanisms involved in scattering effects is of great importance. The effect of Nd-doping, Al-codoping and of the drawing temperature on the scattering effect was investigated for several different optical fibers. To this end a measuring setup was realized which allows absolute measurements of the scattering coefficient at different positions along a fiber. Also separation of total attenuation and scattering effects is possible. The presented results indicate scattering effects as primary source for increased attenuation compared with undoped fibers.     

泡沫型干扰幕的光学衰减性能研究

泡沫型干扰幕是为解决多波段干扰领域有关问题研究的新技术。利用专用导弹综合测试系统,对其光学衰减性能进行了测试。一般只需几到几十厘米厚的干扰幕即可使得基于可见光、红外、激光的导弹制导系统失效,表明它对光传播具有明显的衰减作用,可以满足不同温度下不同目标干扰光学侦察与制导的作战使用要求。研究结论可为泡沫型干扰幕的战术运用设计提供必要的理论基础和实验依据。     

用光纤光栅传感器测量外压力的动态调制方法

为了提高光纤布拉格光栅压力传感器的精度和降低系统成本，提出一种使用光纤双布拉格光栅测定压力的测量方法，即在外界压力作用下，传感光纤布拉格光栅反射波长的飘移被转变成在交变力策动下发生弯曲的等强度悬臂梁调制的扫描光栅的反射光脉冲间隔的变化。实验结果表明：光纤布拉格光栅反射波长漂移的测量范围为0～3nm，波长测量的不确定度为1pm；压力传感器的量程为0～6MPa时，压力的测量不确定度为0.005MPa。     

Evolution of first-order sidebands from multiple FWM processes in HiBi optical fibers

The generation of two idler waves inside a high birefringent (HiBi) optical fiber through three four-wave mixing (FWM) processes is studied theoretically. The coupled-equations for the field amplitudes are derived and analytically solved, in the co-polarized and orthogonal polarization schemes. The obtained solutions take into account the delayed Raman response of the medium. The polarization sensitivity of the generation of the idler waves is analyzed. Results show that the stimulated Raman scattering does not change the efficiency of the idler wave generation in the co-polarized scheme, whereas in the orthogonal polarization scheme that nonlinear process decreases the efficiency of the four-wave mixing processes. Results also show that this set of multiple four-wave mixing processes is physically quite different from the typical single or dual pump four-wave mixing configurations. Findings show that the power transfer from the pumps to the idler fields can lead to a monotonous growth, or a periodic evolution of the sidebands along the fiber. Results show that the process efficiency varies greatly with the angle between the two pump polarizations.     

Distributed strain measurement using a tellurite glass fiber with Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry

A tellurite glass fiber with a high Brillouin gain was employed for distributed strain measurement with Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry (BOCDR). First, the spatial resolution of BOCDR was evaluated using the tellurite fiber. With the high Brillouin gain of the fiber, it was confirmed clearly in the experiment that the spatial resolution is limited by the Rayleigh scattering-induced noise. Then, the dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) on strain in the tellurite fiber was investigated, showing a negative dependence with a coefficient of −0.023 MHz/με. Using this tellurite fiber, the distribution of the BFS around a 1-cm strain-applied section was successfully measured with BOCDR of a nominal spatial resolution of 6 mm.     

Tunable photonic delay lines in optical fibers

A comprehensive overview is presented about optical fiber‐based tunable photonic delay lines, which have been steadily developed over the last decade for the realization of all‐optically controlled timing functions. The most widely used techniques, such as those based on slow & fast light and wavelength conversion associated to dispersion, are described and their physical limitations are discussed in terms of the maximal achievable delay, the associated signal distortion and signal bandwidth. Besides, an entirely different approach for all‐optical signal delaying is introduced. This technique is based on movable grating reflectors dynamically generated in highly birefringent optical fibers. This type of delay line has experimentally demonstrated large tunable delaying with a moderate signal distortion for high capacity optical data streams and even for wideband analog signals.     

光纤中的集成光学与离散光学

光纤集成光学和离散光学有望成为光子学集成的一个新分支。这种集成技术可以通过离散的方法方便地在一根光纤中控制和操纵光波,也为集成光学与离散光学的研究提供了一个灵活方便的平台,为微光子器件和系统集成提供了一种有效的方法和手段。文章简要总结了在光纤内实现光学器件集成和微光学系统集成的主要思想和关键技术,探讨了离散光学需要考虑的核心内容,为该方向的进一步发展提供了若干前期的研究基础。     

Fabry-Perot optical fiber tip sensor for high temperature measurement

We propose a novel Fabry-Perot optical fiber tip sensor for high temperature measurement. The sensor consists of a short section of a special all-silica photonic crystal fiber spliced at one end to a silica single-mode fiber. Because of its all-silica structure, the sensor allows linear and stable measurements of temperature up to 1200 °C with a high sensitivity. The sensor is easy and inexpensive to fabricate and could find wide applications in mechanics, aeronautics, and metallurgy.     

Speckle-based fibre-optic current sensor

A new fibre-optic sensor, based on the speckle phenomenon, for the measurement of current is described. The technique has the advantages of simplicity and sensitivity, but requires a two-step measurement procedure.     

Drawing parameters optimization for birefringence reduction in optical fibers

The impact of the drawing process on the stress-induced birefringence in optical fiber is experimentally analyzed. By means of the photoelastic tomographic technique, residual internal stresses are measured in fiber samples drawn under different conditions of temperature, drawing tension and speed. From measured residual stress distributions, the stress-induced birefringence and beatlength are mathematically derived and compared, proving that an effective birefringence reduction can be obtained by a proper choice of drawing parameters.     

Application of multimode fiber optical sensor in optical tomography technology

In this paper, an attempt to use a multimode optical fiber sensor in tomography is made. Two types of lens, one sphere and one cylinderical, are designed for two terminals of the fiber. It solves the problem of insufficient power collection of natural light beam using current fiber with polished terminals. A theoretical analysis of the relationships among the sphere lens radius, the cylinderical lens radius, the refractive index of the fiber is carried out. The relationship between the scanning angles and the number of the optical fibers is experimentally investigated in the air medium.     

Novel optical sensor for simultaneous measurement of liquid concentration and temperature

The paper describes a new optical sensor for simultaneous liquid concentration and temperature measurement. Temperature-dependent semiconductor absorption at the band edge is used as the principle of the temperature measurement, and the sensor exploits beam deviation caused by refraction due to the liquid concentration at the receiving end face of the optical device. The light intensity peak value and its deviation are detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD), and then the measured optical signal is reflected by a reflecting pyramid prism. The sensor probe is composed of an intrinsically pure GaAs single crystal, a reflecting pyramid prism, a partitioned water cell. Theoretical analysis and preliminary experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed system.     

基于少模-无芯-少模光纤结构的高灵敏度折射率传感器

光纤折射率传感器广泛应用于各种复杂环境的监测。设计了一种基于少模光纤（fewmode fiber,FMF）–无芯光纤（coreless fiber,CLF）–FMF结构的高灵敏度折射率传感器。该传感器由2小段FMF之间熔接1段减薄的CLF组成马赫-增德尔干涉仪（Mach–Zehnder interference,MZI）,测量外界折射率,利用光纤布拉格光栅（fiber Bragg grating,FBG）进行温度补偿。MZI干涉光谱中的谐振波谷同时受折射率和温度影响,FBG只受温度的影响。利用MZI和FBG的折射率和温度灵敏度系数构建灵敏度矩阵,实现折射率和温度的同步测量。实验结果表明,MZI折射率灵敏度为345.66 nm/RIU,温度灵敏度为0.013 4 nm/℃;FBG的温度灵敏度为0.010 4 nm/℃。     

受激布里渊散射对激光在水中衰减特性的影响

测量了不同能量的光束,通过不同长度的水介质在窄线宽与宽线宽两种情况下的衰减系数,研究了受激布里渊散射对激光在水中衰减特性的影响.结果发现,激光光束在水中传播时的衰减系数与激光光强和线宽有关,而不是通常情况下所认为的常数.还从理论上进行了分析. 关键词： 衰减系数 受激布里渊散射     

受激布里渊散射对激光在水中衰减特性的影响

测量了不同能量的光束，通过不同长度的水介质在窄线宽与宽线宽两种情况下的衰减系数，研究了受激布里渊散射对激光在水中衰减特性的影响.结果发现，激光光束在水中传播时的衰减系数与激光光强和线宽有关，而不是通常情况下所认为的常数.还从理论上进行了分析.     

Stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugating properties of long multimode optical fibers

This paper describes and characterizes a detailed experiment that proves the phase conjugating properties of stimulated Brillouin scattering in multimode fibers (km of length), a problem still in debate in the literature, by studying the random aberrations correction abilities of this nonlinear interaction. Detailed qualitative and quantitative evaluation of aberration correction, by using the M² beam propagation ratio as a criterion to assess beam quality of the beams, proves the phase conjugation via SBS in long MM fibers. A new parameter to characterize the efficiency of the SBS phase conjugation process is proposed and conditions to obtain a complete healing of distortions (complete phase conjugation) are discussed.     

Rain induced attenuation for 3mm wave band and its measurement system

In this paper, the effect of rain induced attenuation for millimeter wave is discussed. The theory of multiple scattering is used to obtain the solution for the plane wave propagation through a plane parallel medium of thickness L containing randomly distributed nonspherial particles. The coherent field and the total field are studied, respectively. The numerical results are good agreement with experimental data and the multiple scattering effects must be included. A 3mm wave propagation measurement system was made on a 0.8km terrestrial link.