CN112014067A - Optical fiber attenuation length measuring device, system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses optical fiber attenuation length measuring device, system and method, and the measuring device comprises: the light-tight sliding table is arranged on the linear guide rail in a sliding manner, at least one through hole is formed in the sliding table, and the axis of the through hole is parallel to the guiding direction of the linear guide rail; at least two optical fiber supporting pieces are arranged at intervals along the guiding direction of the linear guide rail, and the sliding table is positioned between the two optical fiber supporting pieces; the sliding table is provided with light holes which are communicated with the through holes in a one-to-one correspondence manner; a light emitting member for emitting light to the through hole through each of the light transmitting holes; and the photoelectric detection element is used for collecting the illumination intensity. The method and the device realize automatic measurement and analysis of the attenuation length of the optical fiber, and have the advantages of accurate and reliable measurement result and good repeatability; and batch detection of a plurality of optical fibers is realized.

Description

Optical fiber attenuation length measuring device, system and method

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to the field of optical fiber characteristic parameter measurement technologies, and in particular, to an optical fiber attenuation length measurement apparatus, system, and method.

Background

Wavelength-shifting optical fibers, i.e., wave-shifting optical fibers, are widely used in particle detectors, and emitted photons satisfying the total reflection condition propagate along the optical fibers and are finally emitted from the end faces of the optical fibers. Due to the absorption of photons by the fiber, the intensity of the emitted light decreases exponentially according to the e-index with the increase of the propagation distance, which is called fiber attenuation. The attenuation length of the wave-shift optical fiber is an important index reflecting the attenuation characteristic of the wave-shift optical fiber, and the existing method for measuring the attenuation length of the wave-shift optical fiber generally comprises the steps of sequentially irradiating the optical fiber from a plurality of points on the side surface of the optical fiber by using blue-violet light, and calculating by sequentially detecting the optical output power of an output end. After one point is measured, the incident position of the irradiating light on the optical fiber needs to be manually changed to measure the next point, and only one optical fiber can be measured each time, so that the defects of time and labor waste, low measuring speed and poor measuring precision exist.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks or shortcomings in the prior art, it is desirable to provide an apparatus, a system and a method for measuring attenuation length of an optical fiber, so as to solve the problem in the prior art that the attenuation length of the optical fiber cannot be measured in batch, quickly and accurately.

As a first aspect of the present application, the present application provides an optical fiber attenuation length measuring device.

Preferably, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus includes:

the light-tight sliding table is arranged on the linear guide rail in a sliding manner, at least one through hole is formed in the sliding table, and the axis of the through hole is parallel to the guiding direction of the linear guide rail;

at least two optical fiber supporting pieces are arranged at intervals along the guiding direction of the linear guide rail, and the sliding table is positioned between the two optical fiber supporting pieces;

the sliding table is provided with light holes which are communicated with the through holes in a one-to-one correspondence manner;

a light emitting member for emitting light to the through hole through each of the light transmitting holes; and

and the photoelectric detection element is used for collecting the illumination intensity.

Preferably, the light emitting component includes a light source and a beam splitter, and the beam splitter is used for splitting the light emitted from the light source to generate multiple sub-beams with the same illumination intensity.

Preferably, the light source emitting component further comprises a beam expander for expanding the sub-beam output by the beam splitter, the beam expander is arranged at the hole opening of the light hole, and light from the light source sequentially passes through the beam splitter, the beam expander and the light hole and then is emitted to the through hole.

Preferably, the optical fiber support member has at least one support area for supporting the optical fiber, and the support areas are coaxially arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes.

Preferably, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring device further comprises a driving device for driving the sliding table to reciprocate along the linear track.

Preferably, the linear guide, the light exit part, the photodetection element and the driving device are all disposed in a dark box.

As a second aspect of the present application, the present application provides an optical fiber attenuation length measurement system.

Preferably, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring system includes the optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus according to the first aspect and an analysis processing unit, where the analysis processing unit is configured to determine the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the intensity of illumination collected by the photodetection element when the light emitting part is located at different positions.

As a third aspect of the present application, there is provided an optical fiber attenuation length measuring method.

Preferably, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring method uses the optical fiber attenuation length measuring system according to the second aspect to perform measurement, and includes the following steps:

irradiating the optical fiber penetrating through the through hole with light rays with specific illumination intensity;

changing the irradiation position of the light on the optical fiber at least once;

and calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the illumination intensity obtained by at least two times of irradiation.

Preferably, the calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the illumination intensity obtained by at least two times of irradiation is performed according to the following formula:

I＝I₀ exp(-x/λ)；

wherein I is the illumination intensity obtained when the optical fiber is irradiated by light at a certain position of the optical fiber, and I is₀The initial illumination intensity of the light is shown, x is the relative distance between the light irradiation position and the photoelectric detection element when the light irradiates the optical fiber at a certain position of the optical fiber, and lambda is the attenuation length;

and obtaining the slope of a curve graph drawn according to the formula based on linear fitting, and obtaining the attenuation length of the optical fiber.

Preferably, the optical fiber is a wave-shifting optical fiber;

the optical fiber is provided with two corresponding end faces, wherein one end face is used as an emergent end to be connected to the photoelectric detection element, and the other end face is subjected to blackening treatment.

The beneficial effect of this application:

the measuring device and the system realize automatic measurement and analysis of the attenuation length of the optical fiber, and compared with a manual operation mode, the measuring device and the system have the advantages of more accurate and reliable measurement results and good repeatability; the batch and simultaneous detection of a plurality of optical fibers is realized, and the measurement efficiency is greatly improved; meanwhile, the measuring device, the system and the method are simple, convenient and quick to operate, an operator only needs to install and replace the optical fiber according to needs, special training is not needed, and the method can be applied to checking whether damage and flaws exist on the surface of the optical fiber or not.

Drawings

Other features, objects and advantages of the present application will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a fiber attenuation length measurement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of measuring attenuation length of an optical fiber according to a preferred embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is an interface diagram of a calculation result when the optical fiber attenuation length measurement system of the present application is used to perform batch measurement of the attenuation lengths of a plurality of optical fibers.

Reference numerals: the device comprises a linear guide rail 1, a sliding table 2, a through hole 20, a light hole 21, an optical fiber support 3, a light emergent part 4, a light source 40, a beam splitter 41, a beam expanding lens 42, a photoelectric detection element 5, a driving device 6, a camera bellows 7, an optical fiber 8, an emergent end 80, an end face 81, an analysis processing unit 9, an analog-to-digital conversion unit 10, a pulse signal generating unit 11, a driver 12 and a power supply 13.

Detailed Description

The present application will be described in further detail with reference to the following drawings and examples. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant invention and not restrictive of the invention. It should be noted that, for convenience of description, only the portions related to the present invention are shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

It should be noted that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "rear," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for convenience and simplicity of description only, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element so referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus should not be considered as limiting.

It should be noted that in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying any number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature.

It should be noted that unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and include, for example, fixed or removable connections or integral connections; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as appropriate.

Referring to fig. 1, according to a first aspect of the present application, there is shown an optical fiber attenuation length measuring device of a preferred embodiment of the present application, which includes a linear guide 1, a light exit part 4 and a photodetection element 5;

the linear guide rail 1 is provided with a lightproof sliding table 2 in a sliding manner, the sliding table 2 is provided with at least one through hole 20, and the axis of the through hole 20 is parallel to the guiding direction of the linear guide rail 1; at least two optical fiber supporting pieces 3 are arranged at intervals along the guiding direction of the linear guide rail 1, and the sliding table 2 is positioned between the two optical fiber supporting pieces 3; the sliding table 2 is provided with light holes 21 which are correspondingly communicated with the through holes 20 one by one;

the light emitting component 4 is configured to emit light to the through hole 20 through each of the light holes 21;

wherein, the photoelectric detection element 5 is used for collecting the illumination intensity.

In the present embodiment, the attenuation length of the optical fiber reflects the light attenuation characteristics when light is transmitted therethrough, and is defined as the length over which the light intensity of the light source is reduced to 1/e. Wherein, the light that the light emergent part 4 sent incides to optic fibre 8 from a position of optic fibre 8 side, and the light of inciding realizes wavelength conversion and transmission in optic fibre 8 to finally, from the terminal outgoing of optic fibre 8, and is gathered by photoelectric detection component 5, can carry out the measurement of optic fibre 8 attenuation length according to the product light amount of outgoing (being the illumination intensity of emergent light) along with the change of light incident position.

The linear guide rails are arranged along the length direction of the optical fiber 8, and at least one through hole 20 is arranged at intervals along the width direction of the sliding table 2, so that the axis of the through hole 20 is parallel to the length direction of the optical fiber 8; when measuring, at least one optic fibre 8 of awaiting measuring wears to locate respectively in the through-hole 20, wherein, optic fibre 8's external diameter is less than the aperture of through-hole 20, and optic fibre 8's length is greater than far away the size of slip table 2, when optic fibre 8 wears to locate in the through-hole 20, two ends of optic fibre 8 expose outside slip table 2, slip table 2 can follow the length direction free slip of optic fibre 8.

Wherein, optical fiber support 3 is used for supporting and fixed optic fibre 8, prevents that slip table 2 from taking place to remove when freely sliding along the length direction of optic fibre 8, influence measurement.

The upper end face of the sliding table 2 is provided with light holes 21 communicated with the through holes 20 in a one-to-one correspondence mode, the light emitting component 4 emits light rays to the through holes 20 through the light holes 21, so that the light rays from the light emitting component 4 irradiate the side face of the optical fiber 8 to be measured, and in the mode, the extending direction of the light holes 21 on the sliding table 2 is perpendicular to the axis of the through holes 20.

In some preferred embodiments, the distribution positions of the plurality of light holes 21, which are in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes 20, on the upper end surface of the sliding table 2 may be the same or different, that is, the plurality of light holes 21 may be on the same straight line extending along the width direction of the sliding table 2, or may not be on the same straight line and are distributed in a staggered manner; when the distribution positions of the plurality of light transmitting holes 21 are the same, the light emitted by the light emitting part 4 can be emitted to the same position of the through hole 20 corresponding to the light emitting part at the same time, and when the distribution positions of the plurality of light transmitting holes 21 are different, the light emitted by the light emitting part 4 is emitted to different positions of the through hole 20 corresponding to the light emitting part, that is, the light is emitted to the same position or different positions corresponding to the plurality of optical fibers 8.

Wherein, light outgoing part 4 set up in on the slip table 2, when slip table 2 freely moved along linear guide 1, light outgoing part 4 was along the length direction free movement of optic fibre 8 promptly to can shine in the different position or different positions department of optic fibre 8, realized that the light source shines at the different positions of optic fibre 8 automated adjustment. In this embodiment, the slip table 2 is not only used for driving the light emitting component 4 to freely move along the length direction of the optical fiber 8, but also enables a plurality of optical fibers 8 to be arranged along the width direction of the slip table 2 at uniform intervals through the through holes 20 arranged on the slip table, so that the plurality of optical fibers 8 are prevented from leaning against each other and affecting batch measurement. The sliding table 2 is made of a light-proof material, which includes metal and nonmetal, such as black POM (polyoxymethylene resin).

The photodetection element 5 is connected to one end of the optical fiber 8, that is, connected to the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8, and is configured to collect an optical signal output by the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8, that is, to collect the illumination intensity of light exiting from the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8. In this embodiment, when the optical fibers 8 are inserted into the through holes 20 along the linear guide rail 1, the exit ends 80 of the optical fibers 8 are respectively connected with one photoelectric detection element 5 in a one-to-one correspondence manner, so that the mass measurement of the attenuation lengths of the optical fibers 8 is realized, and the measurement efficiency is significantly improved; the photo-detection element 5 includes, but is not limited to, a photomultiplier tube (PMT), a Photodiode (PD), a silicon photomultiplier tube (SiPM), and the like.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the light exiting component 4 includes a light source 40 and a beam splitter 41, where the beam splitter 41 is configured to split the light emitted from the light source 40 to generate multiple sub-beams with the same illumination intensity, and the multiple sub-beams are respectively irradiated on the multiple optical fibers 8 to be measured.

In the present embodiment, one light beam emitted from the light source 40 is split by the beam splitter 41 to form multiple sub light beams with the same light intensity, wherein the number of the formed multiple sub light beams is determined according to the maximum number of the optical fibers 8 that can penetrate through the through hole 20 of the sliding table 2, so as to ensure that the light beam emitted from the light source 40 can simultaneously irradiate multiple optical fibers 8. This mode is through utilizing beam splitter 41 for light outgoing part 4 only need include a light source 40, and need not to set up a plurality of light sources corresponding to many optic fibre 8, has effectively reduced this application measurement system's cost and assembly complexity. Of these, the beam splitter 41 is preferably a Y-type glass fiber beam splitter having a plurality of output branches for generating a plurality of sub-beams.

In the present embodiment, the light source 40 is an LED light source having a center wavelength of 400 to 450nm, and is capable of generating blue-violet light having a corresponding wavelength. Preferably, the light source 40 is an LED light source having a center wavelength of 420 nm.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the light source exit part 4 further includes a beam expander 42 for expanding the sub-light beam output by the beam splitter 41, the beam expander 42 is disposed at the aperture of the light-transmitting hole 21, and the light from the light source 40 sequentially passes through the beam splitter 41, the beam expander 42 and the light-transmitting hole 21 and then exits to the through hole 20.

In the present embodiment, the beam expander 42 is used to adjust the diameter of the sub-beam output from the beam splitter 41, expand the sub-beam in accordance with the outer diameter of the optical fiber 8, and reduce the emission angle of the sub-beam. The expanded sub-beams form linear parallel light with a set diameter so as to be uniformly irradiated onto the optical fiber 8.

More specifically, the beam expander 42 is disposed at an aperture of the light-transmitting hole 21, the beam splitter 41 has a main input port and a plurality of output branches, each output branch corresponds to one output core, wherein each output core is respectively located right above the plurality of beam expanders 42 corresponding to the output core in a one-to-one correspondence, the light source 40 is connected to the main input port of the beam splitter, the light beam emitted by the light source 40 is decomposed by the beam splitter 41 to form a plurality of sub-light beams, and the plurality of sub-light beams sequentially pass through the beam expander 42 and the light-transmitting hole 21 and then are incident on the optical fiber 8 penetrating through the through hole 20; among them, the diameter of the light-transmitting hole 21 is preferably matched to the outer diameter of the optical fiber 6.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber support 3 has at least one supporting region for supporting the optical fiber, and the supporting regions are coaxially disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes 20.

In the present embodiment, the one-to-one coaxial arrangement of the supporting areas of the optical fiber supporting member 3 and the through holes 20 means that the horizontal plane where the through holes 20 are located and the horizontal plane where the supporting areas of the optical fiber supporting member 3 are located are on the same straight line; the support zone refers to the area of the fiber support 3 for contacting and holding the fiber 8; when pending optic fibre 8 of awaiting measuring is worn to locate in the through-hole 20 of slip table 2, optic fibre 8 is close to its two terminal parts and is fixed through optic fibre support piece 3 respectively, wherein, through with optic fibre support piece 3 the support area with the coaxial setting of through-hole 20 one-to-one makes optic fibre 8 extend in a parallel with linear guide 1, and the slip table 2 of being convenient for is followed optic fibre 8 length direction parallel movement, guarantees to measure effectively going on. Wherein, the optical fiber support 3 may be a magnetic clamp, a buckle, etc., and the optical fiber support 3 may be mounted on the linear guide 1 by an appropriate manner, such as by a bracket, etc., or mounted on both sides of the linear guide 1, so that the optical fiber 8 can be fixed on the linear guide 1 along the guiding direction of the linear guide 1.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus further includes a driving device 6 connected to the sliding table 2 for driving the sliding table 2 to reciprocate along the linear guide rail 1. The driving device 6 may be a servo motor, or an air cylinder or the like may be used to drive the sliding table 2 to move.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the linear guide 1, the light exit part 4, the photodetection element 5 and the driving device 6 are all disposed in a dark box 7.

In the present embodiment, the dark box 7 is made of opaque material to prevent external light from being incident on the optical fiber and affecting the measurement result, wherein the opaque material includes metal and nonmetal.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber 8 is a wave-shifting optical fiber; the optical fiber 8 has two corresponding end faces, one of which is connected to the photodetection element 5 as an exit end 80, and the other end face 81 is subjected to blackening treatment.

In this embodiment, two end faces of the optical fiber 8 are respectively located at two ends thereof, one of the end faces is an exit end 80 thereof, and can be coupled to the detection face of the photodetecting element 5 through a fixing member. The exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8 may be coupled to the photodetecting element 5 by using a coupling chemical agent or air coupling, and for facilitating the replacement of the optical fiber 8, a fixing member is preferably used for coupling, and the fixing member may be a clamp, a buckle, or the like. In this embodiment, the other end face 81 of the optical fiber 8 is blackened with a dark color paint, and the dark color paint used is required to absorb photons emitted from the end face 81 and prevent the photons from reflecting from the end face 81 and affecting the measurement result.

Exemplarily, in a preferred embodiment of this application, eight even interval distribution's through-hole 21 has on the slip table 2, and eight optic fibre 8 wear to locate respectively in through-hole 20, an end of optic fibre 8 is freely placed, and its terminal surface 81 has carried out blackened and has handled, and a photoelectric detection element 5 is connected respectively to another end of optic fibre 8, and wherein, light outgoing part 4 comprises a central wavelength is 420 nm's LED light source and a 1 minute 8 way Y type glass optical fiber beam splitters and beam expander for the simultaneous measurement of eight optic fibre 8 decay length can be realized to the measurement system of this embodiment simultaneously.

According to a second aspect of the present application, please refer to fig. 2, which illustrates an optical fiber attenuation length measuring system according to a preferred embodiment of the present application, including the optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus and the analysis processing unit 9 as described above, where the analysis processing unit 9 is configured to determine the attenuation length of the optical fiber 8 according to the intensity of the illumination collected by the photodetection element 5 when the light exit component 4 is located at different positions.

In this embodiment, the photodetection element 5 can collect and convert an optical signal into an electrical signal, and the analysis processing unit 9 is configured to collect and store the electrical signal output by the photodetection element 5, calculate the attenuation length of the optical fiber 8 to be measured based on the electrical signal, and output a result.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber attenuation length measurement system further includes an analog-to-digital conversion unit 10, where the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10 includes:

the digital converter is connected with the output end of the photoelectric detection element 5 and is used for collecting the electric signal output by the photoelectric detection element 5 and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the electric signal; and

and the switch is connected with the output end of the digital converter and used for receiving the digital signals output by the digital converter, summing the digital signals and outputting the summed digital signals to the analysis processing unit 9.

In this embodiment, the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10 is mainly used for collecting, digitally converting, and summarizing the electrical signals output by the photodetection element 5, wherein the switch may be an ethernet switch, and is connected to the analysis processing unit 9 through ethernet, so as to summarize the signals output by the exit ends 80 of the plurality of optical fibers 8 and output the summarized signals to the analysis processing unit 9 for analysis processing.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring system further includes a pulse signal generating unit 11, the pulse signal generating unit 11 includes a pulse signal generator, which can output two driving signals, wherein one driving signal is used for driving the light source 40 to emit light and control the illumination intensity thereof, and the other driving signal is used for triggering the analog-to-digital converting unit 10.

In this embodiment, the pulse signal generating unit 11 is respectively connected to the light emitting component 4 and the analog-to-digital converting unit 10, and two driving signals thereof are output through two channels, wherein one logic signal is used as a driving control signal of the light source 40, and the other logic signal is used as a trigger signal of the analog-to-digital converting unit 10; the pulse width of the pulse signal generator of the pulse signal generating unit 11 is preferably 40ns, and the repetition frequency is preferably 10 kHz.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the analysis processing unit 9 includes:

the driving and controlling module is used for controlling the sliding table 2 to reciprocate along the linear guide rail 1 through a driver 12;

the data acquisition module is used for controlling the starting and stopping of the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10 and receiving digital signals output after the switchboard collects;

a data processing module for calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber 8 based on the digital signal;

and the display module is used for displaying the calculation result.

In this embodiment, the driving and control module sends an instruction to the driver 12 through the serial port as needed, and the driver 12 controls the driving device 6 to realize the translation and stop of the sliding table 2.

When measurement is carried out, the sliding table 2 firstly moves to a first position point of the optical fiber 8, the pulse signal generating unit 11 drives the light source 40 to emit light and send a trigger signal to the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10, the light beam emitted by the light source 40 irradiates the optical fiber 8 at the first position point of the optical fiber 8, an optical signal output by the emergent end 80 of the optical fiber 8 is collected by the photoelectric detection element 5 and converted into an electric signal, the electric signal is collected by the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10 and converted into a digital signal, the digital signal of the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10 is collected by the data collecting module and stored in the analysis processing unit 9 after format conversion, and then collection of a data;

after the first point of the optical fiber 8 is measured, the sliding table 2 is driven by the driving device 6 to translate a certain distance along the length direction of the optical fiber 8 under the control of the driver 12 to reach a second point of the optical fiber 8, the steps are repeated, and the measurement result of the second point of the optical fiber 8 is stored in the analysis processing unit 9, namely the collection of two data points is completed;

by analogy, until the measurement of n positions of the optical fiber is completed, namely after a sufficient number of data points are obtained, the data processing module draws a curve graph related to the following formula based on a plurality of data points stored in the analysis processing unit 9, wherein n is more than or equal to 2;

I＝I₀exp (-x/lambda) formula (1);

wherein I is the illumination intensity obtained when the optical fiber is irradiated by light at a certain position of the optical fiber, and I is₀The initial illumination intensity of the light ray, x is the relative distance between the light ray irradiation position and the photoelectric detection element 5 when the light ray irradiates the optical fiber at a certain position of the optical fiber, and λ is the attenuation length; wherein, the initial illumination intensity of the light is the initial illumination intensity of the light source 40, the relative distance between the light irradiation position and the photodetection element 5 is the distance between the light irradiation position and the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8, and the light irradiation position is the incident point of the sub-beam output by the beam splitter 41 on the optical fiber 8;

obtaining the slope corresponding to the curve graph based on linear fitting, and obtaining the attenuation length of the optical fiber 8; wherein the data processing module further comprises the step of removing outlier data points prior to linear fitting the graph.

Further, the display module displays the data points and the curve graph in real time in a chart form, and displays the calculation result of the attenuation length;

further, the calculation result is stored in the analysis processing unit 9 for later query.

The number of the sites of the optical fiber 8 to be measured and the distance between two adjacent sites can be set on the display interface of the analysis processing unit, and the sliding table 2 automatically returns to the initial position after the measurement is completed so as to facilitate the next measurement.

The analysis processing unit 9 of the present embodiment may be implemented in the electronic device in advance, or may be loaded in the electronic device by downloading or the like. The corresponding modules in the analysis processing unit 9 of the present embodiment may cooperate with units in the electronic device to implement the solution of the present embodiment. The modules described in the present embodiment may be implemented by software or hardware. The names of these units or modules do not in some cases constitute a limitation of the unit or module itself.

The analysis processing unit 9 of the present embodiment may be included in a computer system including a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that can perform various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM) or a program loaded from a storage section into a Random Access Memory (RAM). In the RAM, various programs and data necessary for the operation of the computer system are also stored. The CPU, ROM, and RAM are connected to each other via a bus. An input/output (I/O) interface is also connected to the bus. The following components are connected to the I/O interface: an input section including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output section including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker; a storage section including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The communication section performs communication processing via a network such as the internet.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber attenuation length measuring system further includes a power supply 13 for supplying power to the photodetecting element 5 and the analog-to-digital conversion unit 10.

In the present application, in order to obtain a relationship between the light output of the optical fiber 8 and the positional change of the light irradiation position from the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8 (or the light irradiation position from the photodetection element 5) when the light irradiates the optical fiber 8 at different positions, it is preferable that the light exit part 4 be moved from the free end of the optical fiber 8 toward the photodetection element 5.

In addition, the measurement system of the present application can also be applied to check whether damage and flaws exist on the surface of the optical fiber, specifically, if a data point on a graph displayed in real time by the display module in the form of a graph has a larger deviation or fluctuation than other data points, it indicates that the irradiated site of the optical fiber corresponding to the data point has damage or flaws, resulting in a significant fluctuation in light output.

Referring to fig. 3, there is shown an optical fiber attenuation length measuring method according to a preferred embodiment of the present application, which is performed by using the measuring system described above, and includes the following steps:

step S10: irradiating the optical fiber penetrating through the through hole with light rays with specific illumination intensity;

step S20: changing the irradiation position of the light on the optical fiber at least once;

step S30: and calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the illumination intensity obtained by at least two times of irradiation.

In step S10, the light exit part 4 emits a light beam to irradiate the optical fiber 8 at a first position of the optical fiber 8; the photoelectric detection element 5 collects the optical signal output by the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8 and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal; the analysis processing unit 9 collects and stores the electrical signal output by the photoelectric detection element 5, and finishes the collection of the first data point.

In step S20, the light emitting part 4 freely moves along the length direction of the optical fiber 8 to a second position of the optical fiber 8 along with the sliding table 2, the light emitting part 4 emits a light beam, and the optical fiber 8 is irradiated at the second position of the optical fiber 8; the photoelectric detection element 5 collects the optical signal output by the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8 and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal; the analysis processing unit 9 collects and stores the electrical signal output by the photoelectric detection element 5, and completes the collection of a second data point.

In step S30, the analysis processing unit 9 plots a graph of the optical signal output of the light emitting component 4 when the light emitting component irradiates at different positions of the optical fiber 8 and the distance variation of the light irradiation position from the exit end 80 of the optical fiber 8 according to the following formula based on at least the above two data points:

I＝I₀exp (-x/lambda) formula (1);

wherein I is the illumination intensity obtained when the optical fiber is irradiated by light at a certain position of the optical fiber, and I is₀The initial illumination intensity of the light ray, x is the relative distance between the light ray irradiation position and the photoelectric detection element 5 when the light ray irradiates the optical fiber at a certain position of the optical fiber, and λ is the attenuation length;

and obtaining the slope corresponding to the curve graph based on linear fitting, so as to obtain the attenuation length of the optical fiber 6.

Further, in some preferred embodiments of the present application, the optical fiber 8 is a wave-shifting optical fiber; the optical fiber 8 has two corresponding end faces, one of which is connected to the photodetection element 5 as an exit end 80, and the other end face 81 is blackened to ensure the accuracy of the measurement result.

Referring to fig. 4, a calculation result interface diagram when the optical fiber attenuation length measurement system of the present application is used for batch measurement of attenuation lengths of a plurality of optical fibers is shown, it can be seen that the measurement system of the present application can achieve automatic data acquisition and analysis, and achieve visual display of measurement results.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the application and is illustrative of the principles of the technology employed. It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the scope of the invention as referred to in the present application is not limited to the embodiments with a specific combination of the above-mentioned features, but also covers other embodiments with any combination of the above-mentioned features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the above features may be replaced with (but not limited to) features having similar functions disclosed in the present application.

Claims (10)

1. An optical fiber attenuation length measuring apparatus, comprising:

the light-tight sliding table is arranged on the linear guide rail in a sliding manner, at least one through hole is formed in the sliding table, and the axis of the through hole is parallel to the guiding direction of the linear guide rail;

at least two optical fiber supporting pieces are arranged at intervals along the guiding direction of the linear guide rail, and the sliding table is positioned between the two optical fiber supporting pieces;

the sliding table is provided with light holes which are communicated with the through holes in a one-to-one correspondence manner;

a light emitting member for emitting light to the through hole through each of the light transmitting holes; and

and the photoelectric detection element is used for collecting the illumination intensity.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light exit part comprises a light source and a beam splitter for splitting the light emitted from the light source to generate a plurality of sub-beams having the same illumination intensity.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light source exit unit further includes a beam expander for expanding the sub-beams output by the beam splitter, the beam expander being disposed at the opening of the light-transmitting hole, and the light from the light source sequentially passes through the beam splitter, the beam expander and the light-transmitting hole and then exits to the through hole.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber support has at least one support region for supporting the optical fiber, the support regions being coaxially disposed in one-to-one correspondence with the through holes.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driving means for driving the stage to reciprocate along the linear rail.

6. The optical fiber attenuation length measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the linear guide, the light exit part, the photodetecting element and the driving device are disposed in a dark box.

7. An optical fiber attenuation length measuring system, characterized by comprising the optical fiber attenuation length measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and an analysis processing unit, wherein the analysis processing unit is used for determining the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the illumination intensity collected by the photoelectric detection element when the light emitting component is located at different positions.

8. An optical fiber attenuation length measuring method, characterized in that the measurement is performed by the optical fiber attenuation length measuring system according to claim 7, comprising the steps of:

irradiating the optical fiber penetrating through the through hole with light rays with specific illumination intensity;

changing the irradiation position of the light on the optical fiber at least once;

and calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the illumination intensity obtained by at least two times of irradiation.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the calculating the attenuation length of the optical fiber according to the intensity of the light obtained by at least two times of irradiation is performed according to the following formula:

I＝I₀ exp(-x/λ)；

wherein I is the illumination intensity obtained when the optical fiber is irradiated by light at a certain position of the optical fiber, and I is₀The initial illumination intensity of the light is shown, x is the relative distance between the light irradiation position and the photoelectric detection element when the light irradiates the optical fiber at a certain position of the optical fiber, and lambda is the attenuation length;

and obtaining the slope of a curve graph drawn according to the formula based on linear fitting, and obtaining the attenuation length of the optical fiber.

10. The method of measuring the attenuation length of an optical fiber according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the optical fiber is a wave-shifting optical fiber;

the optical fiber is provided with two corresponding end faces, wherein one end face is used as an emergent end to be connected to the photoelectric detection element, and the other end face is subjected to blackening treatment.

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