Performance Analysis of Scattering-Level Multiplexing (SLMux) in Distributed Fiber-Optic Backscatter Reflectometry Physical Sensors

oleh: Daniele Tosi, Carlo Molardi, Wilfried Blanc, Tiago Paixão, Paulo Antunes, Carlos Marques

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-05-01

Deskripsi

Optical backscatter reflectometry (OBR) is a method for the interrogation of Rayleigh scattering occurring in each section of an optical fiber, resulting in a single-fiber-distributed sensor with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. The use of high-scattering fibers, doped with MgO-based nanoparticles in the core section, provides a scattering increase which can overcome 40 dB. Using a configuration-labeled Scattering-Level Multiplexing (SLMux), we can arrange a network of high-scattering fibers to perform a simultaneous scan of multiple fiber sections, therefore extending the OBR method from a single fiber to multiple fibers. In this work, we analyze the performance and boundary limits of SLMux, drawing the limits of detection of N-channel SLMux, and evaluating the performance of scattering-enhancement methods in optical fibers.