JP2011058938A - Method and instrument for measuring optical path reflection distribution and optical path installation monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure reflection distribution in a fiber with distance resolution of 1 cm or less while compensating the effect of wavelength dispersion of a measured optical path. <P>SOLUTION: An incident laser beam is branched into two. Branched laser beams are pulse-modulated by intensity modulators 3-1 and 3-2, respectively, one for a test beam and the other for a reference beam. The test beam is caused to enter a measured optical fiber 7. A reflective beam from the fiber 7 is guided out and combined with the reference beam. An obtained beam is received/demodulated by a light receiver 5 to find an OTDR waveform through sampling by means of an AD converter 6. The OTDR waveform is analyzed by an analyzer 8 to measure reflection distribution. Through a controller 9, pulse generating time is controlled by the analyzer 8 to lower the band of the reflective beam from the fiber 7 to the frequency of a pulse train of the reference beam. The measurement of a reflection position is repeated while displacing times at which the reflective beams are combined with reference beam pulses for each of test beam pulses by displacing the cycle of the pulse train of the reference beam from the frequency of the send-out cycle of test light pulses to determine a position where reflection exists from displacement of the reflection position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a measuring method and a measuring apparatus for measuring a reflection distribution in an optical line such as an optical fiber, and an optical line equipment monitoring system for identifying equipment structures on the optical line by remote measurement.

  As a conventional method for measuring the intensity and position of scattering in an optical fiber, there is a method called C-OTDR (Coherent-Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) (see Non-Patent Document 1). In this method, pulsed light is incident on a measured optical fiber as test light, light scattered in the measured optical fiber is extracted, combined with reference light that is part of the test light, and coherent. Perform detection. At this time, the position where the reflected light is reflected in the optical fiber is specified from the time when the beat signals of the reference light and the scattered light are received.

In this case, the distance resolution Δz depends on the width w of the incident test light pulse, and is given by Δz = V · w / 2 (V: speed of light in optical fiber 2 × 10 ⁸ [m / s]). As an example, if w = 1 [ns], then 10 [cm].
In OTDR, since measurement is performed with a distance resolution determined by the pulse width, the measurement must be performed with a time resolution corresponding to the distance resolution. In the example of w = 1 [ns] described above, measurement must be performed at a sampling frequency of 1 / w = 1 [GHz]. When the distance resolution is increased, the received photo detector bandwidth and Sampling frequency will increase. For this reason, since the band and sampling frequency of a general light receiving system are about 1 [GHz], the distance resolution is limited to 10 [cm] of 1 [ns] pulse.

  Even if the sampling frequency is higher than that, a pulse of 1 [ns] or less has a spectrum spread of about 0.01 [nm] or more. The pulse width expands under the influence. As a result, the distance resolution determined by the incident pulse width is deteriorated, and the pulse waveform is also distorted, so that the reflected waveform cannot be measured correctly.

  As a conventional optical identification method of an optical transmission line, as in Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1, reflection is caused by processing such as cutting a fiber or cutting, and encoding is performed by this reflection. Etc. are considered. At this time, the length of the code string based on the reflected waveform is limited to a resolution of 10 [cm] in the above-described OTDR.

  Since reflection is used only for identification as described above, it is desirable that the reflection portion should be housed in a small portion of about 1 cm or less. There is only an OLCR (On Line Class Registration) method using low-coherence light, as described in Non-Patent Document 2, in order to measure such a length of reflection row. With this method, it is impossible to measure reflection on a long-distance optical fiber such as an optical transmission line.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-288940

IEICE technical report OQE Vol.93, No.329, p61-66 Proceedings of the IEICE Autumn Conference 1991 C-259

  As described above, in the conventional optical line reflection distribution measuring method and measuring apparatus such as OTDR, when the distance resolution is increased, the band of the receiving system is proportionally increased, and the sampling frequency is increased accordingly. Therefore, the improvement of the distance resolution can no longer be expected. As a result, it is not possible to measure the reflection distribution in the optical line with a distance resolution of 1 cm or less in a narrow band receiving system, and in the optical line equipment identification system, the size of the identification device should be 1 cm or less. I could not.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a measurement method capable of measuring a reflection distribution in an optical line with a distance resolution of 1 cm or less while compensating for the influence of chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber to be measured, and An object of the present invention is to provide an optical line facility identification system capable of identifying a device and a device of 1 cm or less.

The optical line reflection distribution measuring method according to the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) The laser beam incident on the optical transmission path is branched into two, each of the two branched laser beams is pulse-modulated, and one of the pulse-modulated pulse beams is incident as a test beam on the optical line to be measured. OTDR (Optical Time) based on sampling by using the other modulated pulse light as reference light and combining with the reflected light from the optical line to be measured, coherently detecting the combined optical signal, and using the detected signal. Domain Reflectometry: Optical time domain reflectivity measurement) An optical line reflection distribution measuring method for obtaining a waveform, wherein a band of reflected light from the optical line to be measured is reduced to a frequency of a pulse train of the reference light, By shifting the period from the frequency of the test light pulse transmission period, the measurement is repeated while shifting the timing at which the reflected light and the reference light pulse are combined for each test light pulse. As the measurement procedure, as a reflected waveform of the entire optical fiber to be measured, a superimposed waveform of the reflected light distribution divided into lengths corresponding to the time of the transmission period of the test light pulse is measured. In addition, the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse are shifted, the reflection position is shifted by shifting the period of the superposition waveform, and the reflection position shifts from the reflection position of the two superposition waveforms. The reflected light distribution is measured by specifying the position where the light exists.

  (2) In the configuration of (1), when the test light and the reference light are combined, the combined signal is separated into two channels whose phases are shifted by π / 2 and each is measured twice. A delay within the coherence time of the laser beam is given to only the reflected light in the channel, and the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform are measured at the same time. From the measurement result waveform of the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform, the reflected waveform Are extracted from the reflected waveform, the light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflected waveform are collectively Fourier transformed into frequency domain data, and from the phase portion of the converted data, the wavelength of the measured line By subtracting the phase change corresponding to the optical pulse transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by dispersion and reflection position, the phase change due to chromatic dispersion is canceled, and the reflection in the frequency domain minus the phase change The waveform data is inverse Fourier transformed to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the spread of the test light pulse is compensated by canceling the phase change due to wavelength dispersion.

The optical line reflection distribution measuring apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration.
(3) Branch means for bifurcating the laser light incident on the optical transmission path, pulse modulation means for pulse-modulating the laser light bifurcated by the branch means, and one of the pulse-modulated pulse lights A combining means for entering the measured optical line as the test light and combining the pulse-modulated other pulse light with the reflected light from the measured optical line as a reference light, and coherent detection of the combined optical signal Detecting means, waveform calculating means for obtaining an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) waveform obtained by sampling using the signal detected by the detecting means, and reflected light from the measured optical line By reducing the band to the frequency of the pulse train of the reference light and shifting the period of the reference light pulse train from the frequency of the transmission period of the test light pulse, the reflected light and the reference light pulse Analyzing means for repeating the measurement while shifting the timing at which the test optical pulses are multiplexed for each test light pulse, and the analysis means has a reflected waveform of the whole optical fiber to be measured as a reflection waveform of the test light pulse. Measure the superimposed waveform of the reflected light distribution divided into lengths corresponding to the time, and then shift the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse to shift the period of the superimposed waveform The reflection position is shifted, and the reflected light distribution is measured by specifying the position where the reflection exists from the shift of the reflection position in the two types of superimposed waveforms.

  (4) In the configuration of (3), when the test light and the reference light are combined, the analyzing unit separates the combined signal into two channels whose phases are shifted by π / 2, and each of them is performed twice. Measures the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform at the same time by giving a delay within the coherence time of the laser beam to only the reflected light in one channel, and measuring the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform From, extract the portion where the reflected waveform exists, and collectively Fourier transform the light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflected waveform to convert to the frequency domain data, from the phase portion of the converted data, By subtracting the amount of phase change corresponding to the optical pulse transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by the wavelength dispersion and reflection position of the line to be measured, the phase change due to wavelength dispersion was canceled and the phase change was subtracted. The reflected waveform data in the frequency domain is subjected to inverse Fourier transform to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the spread of the test light pulse is compensated by canceling the phase change due to wavelength dispersion.

The optical line facility monitoring system according to the present invention has the following configuration.
(5) An optical line facility for identifying the facility on the optical line by reflecting the light incident on the optical line at the light reflecting part, measuring the reflected light, and analyzing the reflection distribution by the optical line reflection distribution measuring device. In the monitoring system, a light reflection part that reflects incident light of a specific wavelength is installed at a position to be identified in the optical line, and a plurality of light reflection waves are generated from one light reflection part. By encoding, the identification information of the equipment on the optical line is embedded in the light reflecting part, and the configuration of (2), that is, the laser light incident on the optical transmission line is 2 as the optical line reflection distribution measuring device. A branching unit for branching, a pulse modulating unit for pulse-modulating each of the laser beams bifurcated by the branching unit, and one of the pulse-modulated pulse lights as test light is incident on the optical line to be measured, and the pulse change A combining means for combining the other pulsed light with the reflected light from the optical line to be measured as a reference light, a detecting means for coherent detection of the combined optical signal, and a signal detected by the detecting means A waveform calculating means for obtaining an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) waveform by sampling using the above, a band of reflected light from the measured optical line is dropped to a frequency of the pulse train of the reference light, and Analysis means for repeating measurement while shifting the timing at which the reflected light and the reference light pulse are combined for each test light pulse by shifting the period of the reference light pulse train from the frequency of the transmission period of the test light pulse; The analysis means includes reflected light divided into lengths corresponding to the time of the transmission cycle of the test light pulse as a reflected waveform of the entire optical fiber to be measured. Measure the overlapping waveform of the cloth, then shift the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse, shift the reflection position by shifting the period of the overlapping waveform, and two types of overlapping The reflected light distribution is measured by specifying the position where the reflection exists from the deviation of the reflection position in the waveform, and when the test light and the reference light are combined, the phase of the combined signal is changed. Each channel is measured twice, separated into two channels shifted by π / 2, and the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform are simultaneously given to one channel by delaying only the reflected light within the coherence time of the laser beam. Measure and extract the portion where the reflection waveform exists from the measurement result waveform of the light amplitude and phase of the reflection waveform, and collectively Fourier transform the light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflection waveform. Wavelength is obtained by converting the data into several regions and subtracting the phase variation corresponding to the optical line transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by the wavelength dispersion and reflection position of the measured line from the phase portion of the converted data. The phase change due to dispersion is canceled, the reflected waveform data in the frequency domain subtracting the phase change is subjected to inverse Fourier transform to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the phase change due to wavelength dispersion is canceled, thereby spreading the test light pulse. It is set as the aspect which identifies the installation information on the said optical line by compensating.

(6) In the configuration of (5), the code of the reflection section is encoded so that the first bit always causes reflection.
(7) In the configuration of (5), on the line, a reflection part in which information related to the environment is embedded in a previously installed position is installed, and the environment on the optical line is measured by the measurement of the optical line reflection distribution measurement. It is assumed that information is monitored.

  As described above, according to the measurement method of the present invention, the measurement method and apparatus capable of measuring the reflection distribution in the optical line with the distance resolution of 1 cm or less while compensating for the influence of the chromatic dispersion of the optical fiber to be measured. And an optical line facility identification system capable of identifying devices of 1 cm or less.

  In particular, the present invention can be applied as a high-resolution measurement using a narrow-width pulse that can be measured by a narrow-band light receiving system. The widening of the measurement system due to the narrowing of the pulse width can be prevented, so that the distance resolution can be applied as a highly accurate measurement. In addition, since the influence of chromatic dispersion due to the narrowing of the pulse can be compensated for, it can be applied to overcome the measurement limit due to the substantial narrowing of the pulse.

  In addition, since the present invention can measure a small reflecting portion of 1 cm or less, it can be installed at a large number of equipment points on an optical fiber transmission line, and detailed equipment information by a multi-bit code is used. Can be applied at the same time as the position on the fiber transmission line, which enables remote identification of various line facilities on the optical fiber transmission line. Further, by changing not only the facility information but also the information put on the code of the reflecting portion, it can be applied as a device for remotely measuring various information on the optical fiber transmission line.

The block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the measuring apparatus using the optical-line reflection distribution measuring method which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the overlap of the reflected waveform by the several pulse measured in the said 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the division | segmentation waveform and measurement waveform of the said 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the measurement procedure of the said 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment of the measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention. The flowchart which shows the measurement procedure of the said 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the optical line equipment identification system using the said measuring apparatus as the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a measuring apparatus using an optical line characteristic measuring method according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an optical coupler 4-1 is connected to the subsequent stage of the laser light generator 1, and the laser light incident on the optical transmission line is branched into two. In both branch lines, using intensity modulators 3-1, 3-2 such as an EA modulator or LN modulator to which pulse signals generated by external periodic pulse generators 2-1, 2-2 are input. The transmission light is pulsed. One of the two pulse lights is used as test light that enters the optical fiber 7 to be measured, and the other pulse light is used as reference light.

  The pulsed light incident on the optical fiber 7 to be measured, scattered and emitted from the end thereof is taken out by the optical coupler 4-2, and combined with the reference light pulse by the optical coupler 4-3, and a balanced photodetector or the like. After receiving the coherent light by the optical receiver 5, the signal is sampled by using the AD converter 6, thereby obtaining an OTDR waveform. The analysis unit 8 measures the reflection distribution of the optical fiber 7 to be measured by analyzing the OTDR waveform obtained by the AD converter 6.

Here, the control unit 9 controls the pulse generation timing of the periodic pulse generators 2-1 and 2-2 in accordance with an instruction from the analysis unit 8.
The processing operation of the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS.
First, in the optical fiber 7 to be measured, when the period of the incident pulse train is T, the fiber length is L, and the speed of light in the fiber is V, the [2L / VT] reflection distribution waveforms are overlapped by T. Will be reflected. Here, [a] represents the smallest integer exceeding a. FIG. 2 shows how the reflected waveforms are overlapped by the plurality of pulses. 2A shows the reflection distribution waveform of the entire fiber, and FIG. 2B shows that the waveform shown in FIG. 2A is shifted by the test pulse period T. In FIG. The measurement apparatus having the above configuration combines the overlapped waveform with the pulse train of the reference light, and measures the frequency band down to the frequency band of the sampling frequency by the reference light pulse train.

Hereinafter, one waveform divided by the period T of the pulse train is referred to as a divided waveform, and a waveform obtained by superimposing [2L / VT] divided waveforms is referred to as a measurement waveform. The number of measured waveforms is [2L / VT], and this number is hereinafter referred to as K.
A measurement waveform and a divided waveform are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively, and a measurement method of the measurement waveform will be described.

The length of the optical fiber to be measured is L, the frequency of the test light pulse train is F, and the frequency of the reference light pulse train is F−Δf. F is represented by 1 / T by the period T of the test optical pulse train. Sampling in the AD converter 6 after the light receiver 5 is performed in strict synchronization with this reference light pulse train. The sampling point interval is 1 / (F-Δf) seconds. At this time, the time of the nth sampling point is given by n / (F−Δf) seconds, and the time t _n that this point represents on the measurement waveform is

で与えられる。ここで、mod(a,b)は、aをbで割った余りである。そして、この点が表す測定波形上の位置z_nは、

Given in. Here, mod (a, b) is a remainder obtained by dividing a by b. And the position z _n on the measurement waveform represented by this point is

で与えられる。
この測定でのサンプリング時間分解能Δtは、

Given in.
The sampling time resolution Δt in this measurement is

と表され、サンプリング距離分解能Δz_nは、

And the sampling distance resolution Δz _n is

と表わされる。
ここで、Δz_nは、ＡＤ変換によるサンプリング分解能を被測定光ファイバ７の距離で表したもので、パルスによる距離分解能Δzと同程度である。測定分解能は、ΔzとΔz_nのいずれかの大きい方で制限されることになる。

It is expressed as
Here, Δz _n represents the sampling resolution by AD conversion by the distance of the optical fiber 7 to be measured, and is approximately the same as the distance resolution Δz by the pulse. Measurement resolution will be limited by the larger of either Delta] z and Delta] z _n.

As an example, when the sampling frequency F-Δf is 10 [MHz] -100 [Hz], Δt = 1 [ps] and Δz _n = 0.1 [mm]. In the method of the present embodiment, since the frequency band of the reference light pulse train is 10 [MHz] -100 [Hz], the measurement bandwidth can be greatly narrowed to achieve high-speed sampling resolution.

Next, a method for specifying the position in the fiber of the reflected waveform in the measured waveform of the sampling point time interval Δt measured in this way will be described. In the above calculation, the waveform at the position of z _n and the position z in the fiber have the following relationship.

ここで、下向きの鍵括弧は括弧内の数以下の最大の整数を求める計算を意味しており、この整数はzが何番目の分割波形に存在しているかを表している。しかし、この(5)式をzについて解くことは不可能なので、この(5)式だけではz_nからzを求めることはできない。

Here, the downward brackets mean calculation for obtaining the maximum integer equal to or less than the number in the parentheses, and this integer represents the number of divided waveforms in z. However, since it is impossible to solve this equation (5) for z, z cannot be obtained from z _n by this equation (5) alone.

Accordingly, the period of the incident test light pulse train is shifted from the period of the pulse train of the reference light associated therewith, and measurement is performed again. It is assumed that F ₁ and T ₁ are obtained by the first measurement, and F ₂ and T ₂ are obtained by the second measurement, and T ₁ <T ₂ with respect to the frequency and cycle of the test optical pulse train. At this time, the position of z _n in equation (5) is shifted between the first measurement and the second measurement. When this difference | z _n1 -z _n2 | is calculated, the following relationship is obtained.

ここで、２回の測定それぞれでの分割波形の数を、

Here, the number of divided waveforms in each of the two measurements is

とする。２回の測定で、周波数と周期をわずかにずらすだけなので、両測定で分割波形の数を同じにすることができる。例えば、ファイバ長10[km]で、試験パルス周期を100[ns]と100.001[ns]で２回測定すれば、分割波形の数は、共に1000で同じになる。zが

And Since the frequency and period are shifted slightly in two measurements, the number of divided waveforms can be made the same in both measurements. For example, if the fiber length is 10 [km] and the test pulse period is measured twice at 100 [ns] and 100.001 [ns], the number of divided waveforms is 1000 and the same. z is

を満たす場合、(6)式の下向き鍵括弧内の整数は、１回目の測定と2回目の測定で、何番目の分割波形(N)が同じであることを意味している。したがって、この整数をMとすると、(6)式は、

When satisfying the above, the integer in the downward bracket in the expression (6) means that the number of the divided waveforms (N) is the same in the first measurement and the second measurement. Therefore, if this integer is M, equation (6) becomes

となる。ここで、Mの最大値は(7)式よりKであり、(9)式の右辺が２つの測定での短い方の分割波形の長さVT₁/2の中で収まる必要があるため、

It becomes. Here, the maximum value of M is K from equation (7), since it is necessary to fit within the length VT _1/2 of the shorter split waveform in (9) of the right side of the two measurements,

である必要がある。また、zが

Need to be. Also, z

のときは、２回の測定で分割波形の周期が異なるため、反射が存在する分割波形の番号(N)が異なることを意味している。このときのNをMとすれば、(6)式は、

In this case, since the period of the divided waveform is different between the two measurements, it means that the number (N) of the divided waveform where the reflection exists is different. If N at this time is M, equation (6) becomes

となる。
(9)式と(12)式で未知な数はMのみで、２回の測定からM、つまり、何番目の分割波形に反射があるかを計算することができる。このMを用いて(5)式を書き直すと、

It becomes.
The unknown number in equations (9) and (12) is only M, and it is possible to calculate M, that is, which division waveform has reflection from two measurements. Using this M to rewrite equation (5),

となり、測定波形上の反射の位置z_n2のファイバ内での位置zを求めることができる。
もし、測定波形上に、ファイバ内の２か所の反射が重なった場合を考える。これは、(5)式より、その２か所の反射の間の距離が入射パルス列周期の整数倍になった場合である。この場合は、２回測定すればその２つの反射は(9)式か(12)式のMが異なることになるので、２回目の測定では反射が２つに分離される。したがって、測定波形上で反射波形が重なることは問題にならない。

Thus, the position z in the fiber of the reflection position z _n2 on the measurement waveform can be obtained.
Consider the case where reflections at two locations in the fiber overlap on the measured waveform. This is the case where the distance between the two reflections is an integral multiple of the incident pulse train period from equation (5). In this case, if the measurement is performed twice, the two reflections have different M in the formula (9) or the formula (12), so the reflection is separated into two in the second measurement. Therefore, it does not matter that the reflected waveforms overlap on the measured waveform.

  In order to make the sampling resolution equal in these two measurements,

でなければならない。例えば、Δf₁=-Δf₂=Δf、F₁=F₂+Δfなどとすれば、容易に同じサンプリング分解能で測定できる。このとき、(9)式に出てくるT₁-T₂はΔtに等しくなり、反射波形のずれは、サンプリング点の整数倍になり、上記の一連の計算の精度が上がる。

Must. For example, if Δf ₁ = −Δf ₂ = Δf, F ₁ = F ₂ + Δf, etc., measurement can be easily performed with the same sampling resolution. At this time, T ₁ -T ₂ appearing in the equation (9) becomes equal to Δt, and the deviation of the reflected waveform becomes an integral multiple of the sampling points, so that the accuracy of the above series of calculations is improved.

For example, when the fiber length is 10 [km], the period T ₁ is 100 [ns] (F ₁ = 10 [MHz]) in the first measurement, and the period T ₂ is 100.001 [ns] (F ₂ = F in the _second measurement). 10 [MHz] -100 [Hz]). Here, T ₁ and T ₂ are close to each other for high resolution measurement, so the right side of equation (6) is

で求められるが、これは、かなり小さな値になる。ここでの例では、0.1[m]となり、波形上は1[ns]の違いとなる。図２、図３の分割波形は1/10[MHz]で100[ns]であるので、２回の測定波形で反射点の位置は全体の1/10以下しか動かない。このため、１つの反射がどこに動いたかは、相当多くの数の反射がない限り容易に識別できる。

This is a fairly small value. In this example, it is 0.1 [m], which is 1 [ns] on the waveform. The divided waveforms in FIGS. 2 and 3 are 1/10 [MHz] and 100 [ns], so that the position of the reflection point moves only 1/10 or less of the entire measurement waveform. Thus, where one reflection has moved can be easily identified unless there is a significant number of reflections.

  In the case of equation (11), it means that the reflection moves from one end to the opposite end in the first measurement waveform and the second measurement waveform. However, the condition of the expression (11) is considerably stricter than the condition of the expression (8), and the reflection included in the expression (11) in one fiber is limited. From this, it is also easy to identify and correspond to reflections separated by the first measurement waveform and the second measurement waveform.

In this way, if the positions of the reflections associated with the two measurement waveforms on the measurement waveform are z _n1 and z _n2, and T ₁ and T ₂ that are already known are used in equations (9) and (12), M can be obtained, and the position of the fiber length can be obtained from the equation (13).
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for executing the above series of measurements in the analysis unit 8. In FIG. 4, first, in step S11, the measurement is performed once (first time) at the test pulse frequency F and the reference pulse train frequency F-Δf, and the reflection position z _n1 on the measurement waveform is recorded. At this time, the sampling frequency of AD conversion is F−Δf, and the period T1 of the divided waveform is 1 / F.

In step S12, the pulse generation timings of the frequency pulse generators 2-1 and 2-2 are controlled through the control unit 9, and the measurement is performed once (second time) as the test pulse frequency F-Δf and the reference pulse train frequency F. Record the reflection position z _n2 on the waveform. At this time, the sampling frequency in AD conversion is F, and the period T2 of the divided waveform is 1 / (F−Δt).

In step S13, a change in reflection position | z _n1 -z _n2 | is obtained from the waveform from the two measurement results. If the value moves beyond the value of equation (15), equations (12) and (15) are obtained. In the case of the movement below the value, the number M of the divided waveform where the reflection occurs is calculated using the equation (9).
In step S14, the position z where the reflection exists is calculated using the divided waveform number M obtained in the calculation of step S13 and the equation (13).

With the above processing, the position z in the fiber of the reflection position z _n2 on the measurement waveform can be obtained.
(Second Embodiment)
The data of one point of the measurement result other than the above embodiment includes reflected light having a length corresponding to the width of the incident test light pulse. Therefore, for example, when the sampling interval of 1 [ps] is performed as in the first embodiment, the width of the incident pulse needs to be 1 [ps] or less.

When a ps-order pulse is incident in this way, the spectrum spreads by several nm, and it is necessary to compensate for the spread due to chromatic dispersion that this wide spectrum receives from the optical fiber to be measured from the measured waveform.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a device configuration of the second embodiment according to the present invention in the case of measuring with dispersion compensated based on the configuration of the first embodiment. 5, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and different parts will be mainly described here.

  In FIG. 5, 10-1 and 10-2 are all 90 ° optical hybrids, and 11 is a delay element such as a delay line. When the reflected light and the reference light are combined, the light 90 ° hybrids 10-1 and 10-2 are combined to obtain two outputs. Also, two outputs of 90 ° hybrids 10-1 and 10-2 are used to obtain four times the output, and light is received by the light receivers 5-1 to 5-4, respectively, and then individually received by the AD converter 6. Sampling is performed to obtain each OTDR waveform, and the analysis unit 8 measures the reflection distribution of the optical fiber 7 to be measured from the OTDR waveform. In the measurement process, the control unit 9 controls the pulse generation timings of the periodic pulse generators 2-1 and 2-2 in accordance with instructions from the analysis unit 8.

Here, the reflected light incident on one of the light 90 ° hybrids 10-2 is delayed by a delay element 11 for a time within the coherence time of the laser light generator 1 that is a light source. The optical 90 ° hybrids 10-1 and 10-2 are devices that multiplex the phases of the reflected light by π / 2 and those that do not shift with the reference light and output the two. When these two outputs are received by the light receivers 5-1 to 5-4 such as two balance photodetectors, the electric outputs become two outputs whose phases of the reflected light are shifted by π / 2. That is, if one output is I, the other is Q, the delay is τ, the non-delayed output is I ₁ , Q ₁ , and the delayed output is I ₂ , Q ₂

と表わせる。ここで、E_Lは参照光パルスの振幅、E_Sは反射光の振幅、φ_Sは位相を表す。nはサンプリング点の番号、Δtはサンプリング点の時間間隔である。この４つの式より、反射光の振幅と位相差が求められる。

It can be expressed as Here, E _L represents the amplitude of the reference light pulse, E _S represents the amplitude of the reflected light, and φ _S represents the phase. n is a sampling point number, and Δt is a sampling point time interval. From these four equations, the amplitude and phase difference of the reflected light are obtained.

このように測定された、測定波形から、反射波形を表すデータ取り出し、この反射波形のファイバ内での位置を第１の実施形態の方法で特定する。このようにして得た、ファイバ内の位置が特定された反射波形の振幅と位相のデータを高速フーリエ変換(ＦＦＴ)で、周波数ω領域のデータに変換する。ファイバの入射端からの反射波形振幅U(z,ω)は、ファイバ内のzの位置からの反射波形振幅U(0,ω)に対して、波長分散の影響で位相が変化する。

Data representing the reflected waveform is extracted from the measured waveform thus measured, and the position of the reflected waveform in the fiber is specified by the method of the first embodiment. The thus obtained amplitude and phase data of the reflected waveform whose position in the fiber is specified is converted into data in the frequency ω region by fast Fourier transform (FFT). The phase of the reflected waveform amplitude U (z, ω) from the incident end of the fiber changes due to the influence of chromatic dispersion with respect to the reflected waveform amplitude U (0, ω) from the position z in the fiber.

ここで、β₂は群速度分散（ＧＶＤ）で、一般的なファイバでは、波長1550[nm]で、-20[ps²/km]である。
ＦＦＴ処理した波形の位置（zであれば、往復で2z）を用いて、周波数領域のデータの位相項から(22)式の位相項の分を引いて、逆高速フーリエ変換によって時間領域のデータに変換すれば、波長分散の影響を補償することができる。このようにして、1[ns]以下の短いパルスと波長分散による反射波形の広がりを補償することができるため、波長分散を考慮せずに、パルス幅を細くして反射波形分布測定の分解能をあげることができる。

Here, β ₂ is group velocity dispersion (GVD), and in a general fiber, the wavelength is 1550 [nm] and −20 [ps ² / km].
Subtract the phase term of equation (22) from the phase term of the frequency domain data using the FFT-processed waveform position (z is 2z for reciprocation), and time domain data by inverse fast Fourier transform Can be compensated for by the influence of chromatic dispersion. In this way, the short pulse of 1 [ns] or less and the spread of the reflected waveform due to chromatic dispersion can be compensated, so the resolution of reflected waveform distribution measurement can be reduced by narrowing the pulse width without considering chromatic dispersion. I can give you.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for executing the above series of measurements in the analysis unit 8. In FIG. 6, in step S21, the values of equations (16) to (19) are measured from the coherent detection signals output from the light receivers 5-1 to 5-4 shown in FIG. In step S22, the time change data of the amplitude is obtained from the equation (20) using the values of the equations (16) and (17), and the values of the equations (16) to (19) are converted to the phase difference from the equation (21). To obtain the time change data. In step S23, the reflection is searched for from the time variation data of the amplitude, and the position of the reflection is roughly checked by the method of the first embodiment (the reflection waveform is greatly spread by dispersion), and the amplitude / phase difference of the reflection portion is determined. The numerical value (extracting the range of the extent of reflection) is FFT processed.

  In step S24, the value of the influence of wavelength dispersion (the position of reflection is obtained in the previous procedure) of equation (22) is subtracted from the phase portion of the numerical value of the reflecting portion that has been changed to the frequency domain by FFT processing. In step S25, the amplitude and phase of the reflecting portion expressed in the frequency domain from which the influence of chromatic dispersion is subtracted is inverse FFTed and returned to the time domain to specify the exact reflection position.

With the above processing, the resolution of the reflected waveform distribution measurement can be increased by narrowing the pulse width without considering chromatic dispersion.
(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of a measuring apparatus using optical line characteristic measurement according to the present invention. In FIG. 7, 20 is an optical line reflection distribution measuring device according to the present invention, 211 to 21N are arbitrary locations on an optical transmission line 21 (corresponding to the optical line by the optical fiber 7 to be measured of the first or second embodiment) 21 In FIG. 2, the reflecting portion is formed by forming a reflecting structure by performing a process such as cutting the fiber in accordance with the bit of the identification code.

  A plurality of reflections are measured from each of the reflection units 211 to 21N, and information at the reflection unit is read from the bits of the measured reflected waves. At this time, since it is not known whether the first bit has reflection or not, encoding is performed so that the first bit is always reflected. In this way, it is possible to determine how many bits the reflected reflection is. For example, if it is determined that 1011 is a connector connection, 1101 is a mechanical splice, and 1110 is a connector at a branching portion such as an optical splitter, etc., as a 4-digit code, it can be identified as facility information.

  With the measurement method of the present invention, measurement can be performed with a distance resolution of 1 [mm] or less. For this reason, it is possible to identify and measure reflections by a reflective structure with an interval of 1 [mm] or less, and to make the entire reflection part a device of 1 [cm] or less, so it is possible to flexibly support monitoring of existing lines. .

  As described above, the measuring method and measuring apparatus according to the present invention can measure a reflective part that can be encoded by using a reflective structure such as a grating that has a length of 1 [mm] order and can be reflected. Therefore, the reflection part can be inserted into an optical equipment point of 1 [cm] or less such as a connector, and the equipment information on the optical transmission path can be remotely identified without degrading the transmission characteristics. It can also be monitored.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the facility information is embedded in the reflection unit has been described. For example, a reflection unit in which information on the environment is embedded in an installation position in advance is installed, and the measurement of the optical line reflection distribution measurement is performed. Environmental information on the optical line may be monitored.

  Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different example embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser light generator, 2-1, 2-2 ... Periodic pulse generator, 3-1, 3-2 ... Intensity modulator, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 ... Optical coupler, 5, 5 -1 to 5-4: light receiver, 6: AD converter, 7: optical fiber to be measured, 8: analysis unit, 9: control unit, 10-1, 10-2: optical 90 ° hybrid, 11: delay element , 20 ... Optical line reflection distribution measuring device, 21 ... Optical line to be measured, 211 to 21N ... Reflector.

Claims (7)

The laser light incident on the optical transmission path is branched into two, each of the two branched laser lights is pulse-modulated, and one of the pulse-modulated pulse lights is incident as a test light on the optical line to be measured and pulse-modulated. OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry :) that combines the reflected light from the optical path to be measured with the other pulsed light as reference light, coherently detects the combined optical signal, and samples the detected signal. (Optical time domain reflectivity measurement) An optical line reflection distribution measuring method for obtaining a waveform,
The reflected light and the reference light are reduced by dropping the band of the reflected light from the optical path to be measured to the frequency of the pulse train of the reference light and shifting the period of the reference light pulse train from the frequency of the transmission period of the test light pulse. Repeat the measurement while shifting the timing at which the pulses are combined for each test light pulse,
As the measurement procedure,
As a reflected waveform of the entire optical fiber to be measured, a superimposed waveform of the reflected light distribution divided into lengths corresponding to the time of the transmission period of the test light pulse is measured,
Next, shift the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse, shift the reflection position by shifting the period of the superimposed waveform,
An optical line reflection distribution measuring method, characterized in that a reflected light distribution is measured by specifying a position where reflection exists from a deviation in reflection position between two types of superimposed waveforms. When the test light and the reference light are combined, the combined signal is separated into two channels whose phases are shifted by π / 2, and each is measured twice.
One channel gives a delay within the coherence time of the laser beam only to the reflected light, and simultaneously measures the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform,
From the measurement result waveform of the light amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform, extract the portion where the reflected waveform exists,
The light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflected waveform are collectively Fourier transformed and converted to frequency domain data,
From the phase portion of the converted data, cancel the phase change due to chromatic dispersion by subtracting the amount of phase change corresponding to the optical line transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by the chromatic dispersion and reflection position of the measured line,
The reflected waveform data in the frequency domain minus the phase change is subjected to inverse Fourier transform to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the spread of the test light pulse is compensated by canceling the phase change due to wavelength dispersion. The optical line reflection distribution measuring method according to claim 1. Branching means for splitting the laser light incident on the optical transmission path into two branches;
Pulse modulation means for pulse-modulating each of the laser beams branched into two by the branch means;
A multiplexing means for making one of the pulse-modulated pulsed light enter the measured optical line as test light and combining the other pulse-modulated pulsed light with the reflected light from the measured optical line as reference light; ,
Detection means for coherent detection of the combined optical signal;
Waveform calculating means for obtaining an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) waveform by sampling using the signal detected by the detection means;
The reflected light and the reference light are reduced by dropping the band of the reflected light from the optical path to be measured to the frequency of the pulse train of the reference light and shifting the period of the reference light pulse train from the frequency of the transmission period of the test light pulse. Analyzing means for repeating the measurement while shifting the timing at which the pulses are combined for each test light pulse,
The analysis means includes
As a reflected waveform of the entire optical fiber to be measured, a superimposed waveform of the reflected light distribution divided into lengths corresponding to the time of the transmission period of the test light pulse is measured,
Next, shift the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse, shift the reflection position by shifting the period of the superimposed waveform,
An optical line reflection distribution measuring apparatus that measures a reflected light distribution by specifying a position where reflection is present from a shift in reflection position between two types of superimposed waveforms. The analysis means includes
When the test light and the reference light are combined, the combined signal is separated into two channels whose phases are shifted by π / 2, and each is measured twice.
One channel gives a delay within the coherence time of the laser beam only to the reflected light, and simultaneously measures the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform,
From the measurement result waveform of the light amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform, extract the portion where the reflected waveform exists,
The light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflected waveform are collectively Fourier transformed and converted to frequency domain data,
From the phase portion of the converted data, cancel the phase change due to chromatic dispersion by subtracting the amount of phase change corresponding to the optical line transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by the chromatic dispersion and reflection position of the measured line,
The reflected waveform data in the frequency domain minus the phase change is subjected to inverse Fourier transform to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the spread of the test light pulse is compensated by canceling the phase change due to wavelength dispersion. The optical line reflection distribution measuring apparatus according to claim 3. In an optical line equipment monitoring system in which light incident on an optical line is reflected by a light reflecting portion, the reflected light is measured, and the reflection distribution is analyzed by an optical line reflection distribution measuring device, thereby identifying equipment on the optical line. ,
A light reflection part that reflects incident light of a specific wavelength is installed at a position to be identified in the optical line, a plurality of light reflection waves are generated from one light reflection part, and encoding is performed according to the presence or absence of the light reflection wave. Then, the identification information of the equipment on the optical line is embedded in the light reflecting part,
The optical line reflection distribution measuring device is
Branching means for splitting the laser light incident on the optical transmission path into two branches;
Pulse modulation means for pulse-modulating each of the laser beams branched into two by the branch means;
A multiplexing means for making one of the pulse-modulated pulsed light enter the measured optical line as test light and combining the other pulse-modulated pulsed light with the reflected light from the measured optical line as reference light; ,
Detection means for coherent detection of the combined optical signal;
Waveform calculating means for obtaining an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) waveform by sampling using the signal detected by the detection means;
The reflected light and the reference light are reduced by dropping the band of the reflected light from the optical path to be measured to the frequency of the pulse train of the reference light and shifting the period of the reference light pulse train from the frequency of the transmission period of the test light pulse. Analyzing means for repeating the measurement while shifting the timing at which the pulses are combined for each test light pulse,
The analysis means includes
As a reflected waveform of the entire optical fiber to be measured, a superimposed waveform of the reflected light distribution divided into lengths corresponding to the time of the transmission period of the test light pulse is measured,
Next, shift the transmission period of the test light pulse and the transmission period of the reference light pulse, shift the reflection position by shifting the period of the superimposed waveform,
The reflected light distribution is measured by specifying the position where the reflection exists from the deviation of the reflection position in the two types of superimposed waveforms,
When the test light and the reference light are combined, the combined signal is separated into two channels whose phases are shifted by π / 2, and each is measured twice.
One channel gives a delay within the coherence time of the laser beam only to the reflected light, and simultaneously measures the optical amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform,
From the measurement result waveform of the light amplitude and phase of the reflected waveform, extract the portion where the reflected waveform exists,
The light amplitude and phase of the portion extracted from the reflected waveform are collectively Fourier transformed and converted to frequency domain data,
From the phase portion of the converted data, cancel the phase change due to chromatic dispersion by subtracting the amount of phase change corresponding to the optical line transit time of the test pulse and reflected light determined by the chromatic dispersion and reflection position of the measured line,
The reflected waveform data in the frequency domain minus the phase change is subjected to inverse Fourier transform to return to the reflected waveform in the time domain, and the spread of the test light pulse is compensated by canceling the phase change due to wavelength dispersion. An optical line equipment monitoring system characterized by identifying equipment information on a road.   6. The optical line equipment monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein the reflection part is encoded such that the first bit is always reflected.   A reflection unit in which information related to the environment is embedded at a previously installed position is installed on the line, and the environment information on the optical line is monitored by measurement of the optical line reflection distribution measurement. Item 6. The optical line facility monitoring system according to Item 5.

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