提出了一种光纤折射率分布的测量方法，采用白光扫描干涉技术，并在参考镜上构造与光纤样品相同的结构来克服白光相干长度短的限制，优化了光路，提高了干涉条纹间的对比度。采用与白光干涉信号的包络线呈高斯分布的Morlet小波作为小波变换的母小波进行拟合处理，得到光纤与已知折射率的匹配液之间的相对高度。通过计算获得光纤的折射率分布，并对获得的数据采用光纤折射率分布的经典函数进行拟合，得到多模光纤和单模光纤的决定系数分别为0.997 2和0.996 4。最后将实验获得的结果与官方参数进行比较，误差为0.01%，表明该种方法测量的精度较高，完全可以用来测量光纤的折射率。

A refractive index intensity detecting sensor with long-period grating written in the single-mode–thin-core–single-mode fiber (STS) structure is proposed and optimized theoretically. The sensor is composed of two single-mode fibers connected by a section of long-period fiber grating fabricated on thin-core fiber. After optimization and benefitting from the phase matching point, the loss peak of the structure can reach 62.8 dB theoretically. The wavelength of the characteristic peak is fixed at the phase matching point, so intensity detection can be achieved. The sensitivity can reach 272.5 dB/RIU. The structural optimization in this Letter provides a reference for the fabrication of an easy-made all-fiber sensor without extra cladding.

Optoelectronic components and subsystems such as optically controlled phased array antennas, distributed radar networks, interferometric optical fiber hydrophones, and high-speed optoelectronic chips demand high-accuracy optical time delay measurement with large measurement range and the capability for single-end and wavelength-dependent measurement. In this paper, the recent advances in the optical time delay measurement of a fiber link with high accuracy are reviewed. The general models of the typical time delay measurement technologies are established with the operational principle analyzed. The performance of these techniques is also discussed.

We propose a cavity length demodulation method that combines virtual reference interferometry (VRI) and minimum mean square error (MMSE) algorithm for fiber-optic Fabry–Perot (F-P) sensors. In contrast to the conventional demodulating method that uses fast Fourier transform (FFT) for cavity length estimation, our method employs the VRI technique to obtain a raw cavity length, which is further refined by the MMSE algorithm. As an experimental demonstration, a fiber-optic F-P sensor based on a sapphire wafer is fabricated for temperature sensing. The VRI-MMSE method is employed to interrogate cavity lengths of the sensor under different temperatures ranging from 28°C to 1000°C. It eliminates the “mode jumping” problem in the FFT-MMSE method and obtains a precision of 4.8 nm, corresponding to a temperature resolution of 2.0°C over a range of 1000°C. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method provides a promising, high precision alternative for demodulating fiber-optic F-P sensors.

Induced loss at 633 nm is tested in Yb3+/Al3+ co-doped silica fiber by a core pumped with a 974 nm laser and probed with a 633 nm laser. The fiber is prepared by the modified chemical vapor deposition method combined with solution doping. Different power scales of pump light and probe light are used in the tests. It is found that there is a dynamic equilibrium between photobleaching induced by 633 nm probe light and photodarkening (PD) induced by 974 nm pump light. For the first time to our knowledge, the effect of 633 nm probe laser power on an induced loss test of Yb3+/Al3+ co-doped silica fiber is studied quantitatively. It suggests that as long as the 633 nm probe light power is less than 0.2 mW, the induced loss is mainly contributed by the PD effect of pumping light, and the deviation of induced loss is less than 5%.

A dual optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) system, which employs two different continuous waves at the optical line terminal and a pair of fiber Bragg gratings at the end of each optical network unit, is proposed in a time-division multiplexing passive optical network (PON). The proposed scheme accomplishes the fiber fault monitoring by comparing the different wavelength’s testing curves. Complete complementary code is utilized to measure multiple wavelength signals simultaneously with only one receiver and to improve the dynamic range of this system. The PON system consisting of 20 km feeding fiber and a 1:16 splitter is investigated by the experiments. The experimental results show that the faulty branch can be successfully identified by using our scheme. What is more, we also demonstrate that our scheme can be applied to the multi-stage PON.