JP4694959B2 - Optical line test method and test system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical line test method and test system for optical communication equipment, which improves the reliability of the optical communication equipment and makes maintenance operation more efficient.

  The optical line test system is a system for testing an optical fiber cable that is an optical line.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional optical line test system. In the system of FIG. 5, an optical fiber 9 constituting an optical line is installed in a communication facility building 10 in which telecommunication facilities are installed, and is installed in a transmission device 11 that transmits and receives optical signals, and in a user's home 12. And a transmission device 13 that transmits and receives an optical signal. In addition, an equipment management center 14 for managing equipment information is provided with an optical line equipment database 15 and an operation terminal 17 for remotely operating an optical test apparatus 16 to be described later, and the communication equipment building 10 and equipment via a communication network 18. The management center 14 is connected.

  An optical coupler module 19 is installed in the optical fiber 9 in the communication facility building 10 to multiplex / demultiplex the optical fiber 9 constituting the test light and to block the test light to the transmission device 11. A termination filter 20 that passes the communication light and blocks the test light to the transmission device 13 is connected to the optical fiber 9 immediately before the device 13. The optical coupler module 19 is installed on an optical termination 22 to which a core selection device 21 for selecting an optical fiber core to be tested is connected. An optical measuring device / optical termination rack selecting device 24 for selecting the measuring device 23, an optical pulse tester (hereinafter referred to as OTDR), a loss test light source, a core wire reference light source, and a power meter 23 having a power meter function; The test control device 25 is configured to receive a test instruction from the operation terminal 17 and transmit a test result to the equipment management center 14. The optical measuring device 23, the optical measuring device / optical termination rack selecting device 24, and the test control device 25 are collectively referred to as an optical testing device 16.

  A test command is issued from the operation terminal 17 in the facility management center 14 to the optical test apparatus 16 based on the database 15. In accordance with the command, the test control device 25 of the optical test device 16 selects the optical measurement device 23 with the optical measurement device / optical termination rack selection device 24, and further includes a test light input / output port of the optical coupler. The line selection device 21 selects the test light input port of the optical coupler module 19 to which the designated optical fiber core wire is connected.

  There is an optical pulse test mainly using OTDR as a method for detecting an optical line failure. In the test with the optical line test system of FIG. 5, pulsed test light is incident from the optical measuring device 23. It is connected to the optical fiber 9 to be tested by the optical measuring instrument / optical termination selection device 24, and the test light is incident on the optical fiber 9. At each point of the optical fiber 9 to be measured, Rayleigh backscattered light is generated for the incident test light and returns toward the measuring device 23. The test light pulse that reaches the termination filter 20 in the user home 12 is blocked by the termination filter 20. Rayleigh backscattered light at each point is almost entirely directed to the optical test apparatus 16 by the optical coupler module 19 in front of the transmission apparatus 11 in the communication facility building 10 and is not incident on the transmission apparatus 11. The scattered light intensity at each point of the optical fiber 9 of the test light pulse is measured according to the time from the incident to the detection. Connection loss and reflection point in the optical fiber 9 can be detected. The communication light and the test light use different wavelengths so that the test light from the optical measuring device 23 does not affect the optical communication service, and light that blocks only the test light before the transmission device 11 and the transmission device 13. Each of the coupler module filter 26 and the termination filter 20 is installed.

  BOTDR (Brillouin Optical Fiber Time Domain Reflectometry) is a test method for detecting distortion and temperature abnormalities in addition to the connection loss and reflection point of an optical fiber. The test light pulse is split into probe light and local light by an optical coupler, the probe light is incident on an optical fiber, and the generated backward Brillouin scattered light and the previously branched local light are combined and beated by a light receiving element. Receive a signal. The beat signal has a frequency that is a value of a difference between the frequencies of the local light and the scattered light of about 10 GHz, and indicates a Brillouin frequency shift. Since this Brillouin frequency shift changes depending on strain and temperature distribution, the distortion and loss in the optical fiber can also be measured by measuring the Brillouin frequency shift. If a Brillouin scattered light measuring instrument is used as the optical measuring instrument 23 of the conventional optical line test system, the system can measure temperature and strain.

  Here, since the aforementioned Brillouin frequency shift has a spectrum width of about several tens of MHz, the conventional optical test method detects the maximum value of the Brillouin frequency spectrum when detecting the Brillouin frequency shift inherent to the optical fiber. ing. The peak of the Brillouin frequency shift is in the form of a Lorentz function (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). For this reason, in the method of detecting the maximum value of the Brillouin frequency spectrum, there is a problem that only one can be detected even when a plurality of Brillouin frequency shifts are excited.

で表すことができる。ｇ_１＝ｇ_２である。 FIG. 6 is a structural explanatory diagram showing a conventional optical line test system, and FIG. In FIG. 6, 1 is an intra-station transmission apparatus, 2 is a Brillouin scattered light measuring instrument, 3 is a first optical fiber, 4 is a second optical fiber having a Brillouin frequency shift different from that of the first optical fiber, and 5 is a subscription. A subscriber terminal 6 is a light receiving unit in the subscriber terminal. In FIG. 7, the frequency of the incident test light pulse is ν ₀ , the Brillouin frequency shift from the first optical fiber 3 is ν ₁ , and the Brillouin frequency shift from the second optical fiber 4 is ν ₂ . The spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift from the first optical fiber 3 and the spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift from the second optical fiber 4 have exactly the same spectral shape except that the peaking frequencies are different from ν ₁ and ν _2. The power and the half value width Δ are assumed. The spectrum S ₁ (ν) of the Brillouin frequency shift of the first optical fiber 3 and the spectrum S ₂ (ν) of the Brillouin frequency shift of the second optical fiber 4 are respectively calculated using Lorentz functions.

Can be expressed as g ₁ = g ₂ .

である。 The Brillouin frequency shift spectrum S (ν) actually measured is a linear combination of the two spectra.
S (ν) = aS ₁ (ν) + bS ₂ (ν)
It becomes. For scattering when the test light pulse is present only in the first or second optical fiber, the coefficient is

It is.

If the length of the second optical fiber 4 is L ₂ , the test light pulse width is w, and the speed of light in the optical fiber is v, the length of the test light pulse existing in the optical fiber is wv. When the test light pulse passes through the connection point between the first and second optical fibers, the power of the scattered light is determined according to the proportion of the optical fiber in which the test light pulse exists.

Generally, the light receiving port of the subscriber terminal to which the termination cable is connected is connected to the light receiver by a single mode optical fiber equivalent to the first optical fiber 3, and the Brillouin frequency shift with the first optical fiber 3 is reduced. Since a and b are substantially equal, a and b are regions L ₂ that cause different shifts in the measured line, that is, when the length of the second optical fiber 4 is shorter than the length wv in which the pulse exists in the optical fiber, when the ₂ ≦ wv, in proportion to the length of the optical fiber 4 decreases the peak power of the frequency [nu _2, second peak frequency [nu ₂ of the optical fiber 4 is observed solely at all times There is nothing. Furthermore, when the length of the second optical fiber 4 is shorter than half of the length of the pulse existing in the optical fiber, that is, when L ₂ ≦ wv / 2, The peak power at the frequency ν ₁ of the first optical fiber 3 is larger than the peak power at the frequency ν ₂ .

  For this reason, there is a problem that the second optical fiber 4 cannot be detected if the length of the second optical fiber 4 is shorter than half of the pulse width present in the optical fiber.

  For example, when the test light pulse width is 100 ns and the refractive index of the optical fiber is 1.48, the length of the test light pulse actually existing in the optical fiber is 100 × 10 ^ (− 9) × 3 × 10. ^ 8 (speed of light) /1.48≈about 10 m. In this 100 ns test light pulse, half the length of 10 m existing in the optical fiber (according to the OTDR measurement method) is the resolution of measurement with the conventional 100 ns test light pulse, and the second optical fiber is 5 m or less. It cannot be detected.

In general, in order to expand the dynamic range of the measuring instrument, a means of increasing the width of the optical pulse is taken. The Brillouin backscattered light intensity increases with the pulse width, but if the region where the different Brillouin frequency shift occurs is short relative to the length of the test light pulse in the optical fiber, the Brillouin scattered light from that region Since the power is constant regardless of the pulse width, the distance resolution of the Brillouin scattered light measuring device that detects the region where ν ₂ is generated deteriorates when the pulse width is increased.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-120437 P.J.Thomas, N.L.Rowell, H.M.van Driel, and G.I.Stegeman, “Normal acoustic modes and Brillouin scattering in single-mode optical fibers,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 19, pp. 4986-4998, May 1979

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an optical line test method capable of detecting a Brillouin frequency shift change with high resolution regardless of the test light pulse width when the Brillouin frequency shift change occurs in a short region, and The purpose is to provide a test system.

To accomplish the above object, by detecting the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light generated in the optical fiber of the optical fiber line connecting a subscriber terminal and station transmission device, detecting an abnormality of the optical fiber line The optical fiber line under test comprises a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber having a Brillouin frequency shift different from that of the first optical fiber. Ri tear light receiving portion is connected directly subscriber in the terminal to the fiber, the Brillouin frequency shift of the optical fiber line by detecting a plurality of maximum value and power change in the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light from the optical fiber longitudinal direction It characterized that you detect abnormal due to changes.

The present invention is also characterized in that, in the optical line test method, a plurality of maximum values and power changes in the frequency spectrum of Brillouin backscattered light are detected using a Brillouin scattered light measuring device .

The present invention is also characterized in that, in the optical line testing method , an optical filter for blocking the test light pulse is provided between the second optical fiber and the subscriber terminal.

According to the present invention, in the optical line test method , the second optical fiber includes a Brillouin frequency shift of a frequency outside the frequency range received by the light receiving unit of the Brillouin scattered light measuring device, or the Brillouin of the second optical fiber. A third optical fiber having a power peak Brillouin frequency shift smaller than the frequency shift peak power is connected.

In the optical line testing method , the length of the second optical fiber may be wv / 2 or less, where w is a pulse width and v is the speed of light in the optical fiber. To do.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the optical line testing method , the optical fiber line to be measured is connected to an optical splitter and an optical fiber having a different Brillouin scattering frequency shift set below the optical splitter. Is.

  The optical line test method and test system according to the present invention can measure the peak of the Brillouin frequency shift with an optical fiber that is short relative to the test optical pulse width without depending on the test optical pulse width, and can achieve high-resolution Brillouin scattering. A system to be used can be constructed. Further, even when a plurality of Brillouin frequency shift peaks exist in the spectrum, it can be easily detected. In addition, since the optical fiber designed for the Brillouin frequency shift can be made very short, the identification function unit on each user side can be made small, and can be easily accommodated in a user side terminal such as an ONU. It is also effective for increasing the resolution when measuring strain and temperature of an optical fiber.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an optical line test system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. However, the light receiving unit 6 is directly connected to the light receiving port of the subscriber terminal 5 to which the second optical fiber 4 is connected. The second optical fiber 4 is shorter than half the length wv of the test light pulse width in the optical fiber, that is, L ₂ ≦ wv / 2.

  That is, the maximum value of the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light generated in the first optical fiber 3 and the second optical fiber 4 of the optical fiber line connecting the intra-station transmission apparatus 1 and the subscriber terminal 5 is calculated using the Brillouin scattered light measuring device 2. By detecting with, the abnormality of the optical fiber line is detected. The measured optical fiber line is composed of a first optical fiber 3 and a second optical fiber 4 having a Brillouin frequency shift different from that of the first optical fiber 3. A light receiving unit 6 in the terminal 5 is connected. Further, by detecting a plurality of maximum values in the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light, an abnormality due to a change in the Brillouin frequency shift of the optical fiber line can be detected.

When a test light pulse having a pulse width w is incident on the line, the Brillouin scattered light generated when the test light pulse reaches the connection point between the first optical fiber 3 and the second optical fiber 4 is It has two peaks, ν ₁ of the Brillouin frequency shift of the optical fiber 3 and ν ₂ of the Brillouin frequency shift of the second optical fiber 4.
The time change of the spectrum of Brillouin backscattered light will be described.
The time when the test light pulse is completely incident on the first optical fiber 3 is t = 0.

  FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing the spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift for each time according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents frequency shift, and the vertical axis represents spectrum power.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the abundance ratio of the length existing in the two optical fibers of the pulse state and the pulse width at each time according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(1) When 0 ≦ t ≦ (L ₁ −wv) / v, the test light pulse is completely present only in the first optical fiber 3, and therefore the peak of the Brillouin frequency shift spectrum is present only in ν _1. . The spectrum of the measured Brillouin frequency shift is S (ν) = S ₁ (ν).

となる。 (2) When (L ₁ −wv) / v ≦ t ≦ −w + (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / v, the test light pulse is Brillouin scattered from both the first optical fiber 3 and the second optical fiber 4. However, since the ratio of the backscattered light scattered from the first optical fiber 3 is larger, the spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift has two peaks ν ₁ and ν ₂ , but ν ₁ The peak of becomes larger. The spectrum of the measured Brillouin frequency shift is given by the ratio of the pulse width lengths in the two optical fibers in FIG.

It becomes.

となる。 (3) When -w + (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / v ≦ t ≦ L ₁ / v−L ₂ / v, as in (2), the test light pulse spans both optical fibers. The Brillouin frequency shift peaks appear as ν ₁ and ν ₂ . However, a part (wv−L ₁ −L ₂ + vt in terms of length) of the test light pulse passes through the second optical fiber 4 and is emitted. When the test optical fiber is emitted from the second optical fiber 4, Fresnel reflection occurs. However, although the frequency of the Fresnel reflection light is the same as that of the test light, since the frequency band of the light receiving unit 6 is shifted by about 10 GHz in order to measure the Brillouin frequency shift, it is not measured. The length of the test light pulse remaining in the optical fiber is L ₁ + L ₂ −vt, the length L ₁ −vt is in the first optical fiber 3, and the length L ₂ is the second length. It is in the optical fiber 4. The spectrum of the measured Brillouin frequency shift is given by the ratio of the pulse width lengths in the two optical fibers in FIG.

It becomes.

Here, since −w + (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / v ≦ t ≦ L ₁ / v−L ₂ / v, L ₂ ≦ L ₁ −vt ≦ wv−L ₂ , and the coefficient of S ₁ is S _2. As in (2), the ν ₁ peak of the Brillouin frequency shift of the first optical fiber 3 is larger. However, since a part of the test light pulse passes through the second optical fiber 4 and is radiated, the magnitude of the peak of ν ₁ is smaller than in the case of (2). [nu ₂ peaks, the magnitude of the test light pulses in a second optical fiber 4 does not change the time of _{t = -w + (L 1 +} L 2) / v for fixed _{L 2.}

となる。 (4) When L ₁ / v−L ₂ / v ≦ t ≦ L ₁ / v, the spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift has peaks at ν ₁ and ν ₂ as in (3). A part of the optical pulse (length wv−L ₁ −L ₂ + vt) is radiated through the second optical fiber 4. However, this time, the test light pulse L ₁ -vt remaining in the first optical fiber 3 and the test light pulse L ₂ remaining in the second optical fiber 4 satisfy L ₁ −vt ≦ L ₂ , and the second Since the test light pulse remaining in the optical fiber 4 becomes larger, the peak of ν ₂ becomes larger. However, the magnitude of the peak of ν ₁ is further reduced because the magnitude of the test light pulse emitted through the second optical fiber 4 is larger than in (3). The size of the peak of ν ₂ is still the same as (3) for the same reason as (3). The measured spectrum is the ratio of the pulse width lengths in the two optical fibers in FIG.

It becomes.

となる。 (5) When L ₁ / v ≦ t ≦ (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / v, the test light pulse is completely present only in the second optical fiber 4, so the peak of the Brillouin frequency shift exists only in ν ₂ Without measuring, the peak of the measured spectrum is

It becomes.

  Thus, unlike the conventional example, the third optical fiber having the same specifications as the first optical fiber 3 is not installed behind the second optical fiber 4, so that in the case of (5) Even if the second optical fiber 4 is shorter than the length of the test light pulse existing in the optical fiber, that is, the optical fiber shorter than the measurement resolution, the peak is detected by connecting to the end of the line. can do. If it is set as the structure of this embodiment, if the light reception zone | band of the Brillouin scattered light measuring device 2 is 1 GHz, it can detect even about 10 cm. In addition, since the resolution independent of the test light pulse width can be obtained, the peak spread depending on the test light pulse width can be optimized with the test light pulse width without considering the resolution. Similarly, high-resolution measurement is possible for measuring strain and temperature of optical fibers.

  Further, the same effect as described above can be obtained by installing an optical filter for blocking the test light pulse at the end of the second optical fiber 4 on the subscriber terminal 5 side. The filter used in the conventional test method was designed to largely reflect in order to isolate the position, but in this embodiment, since the position can be isolated with or without Brillouin frequency shift, there is no need for reflection, A non-reflective filter can be realized with a dielectric multilayer filter or a long-period grating filter.

Further, the Brillouin frequency shift of the frequency outside the range of the frequency received by the light receiving unit of the Brillouin scattered light measuring instrument 2 after the second optical fiber 4 in the first embodiment, or the Brillouin frequency shift of the second optical fiber 4 is detected. Assuming that a third optical fiber having a peak Brillouin frequency shift ν ₃ with a power smaller than the peak power is connected, and that the optical fiber is connected to the light receiving unit of the subscriber terminal, the same as in the previous embodiment. An effect is acquired and said 2nd optical fiber 4 can be detected independently. When the second optical fiber 4 is used as an optical fiber for monitoring in the middle of a line connecting three optical fibers, it can be made short and inexpensive, and has the advantage of being easy to install.

[Embodiment 2]
It is assumed that the maximum value of the measured Brillouin scattered light spectrum is measured in FIG. 6 described in the background art. At this time, as described in the background art, the length of the test light pulse existing in the optical fiber is wv, but when the test light pulse passes through the connection point of the first and second optical fibers, The power of the scattered light is determined by the proportion of the existing optical fiber. Therefore, when L ₂ ≦ wv, the second optical fiber is not measured alone, and when L ₂ ≦ wv / 2, the peak of the Brillouin scattered light spectrum of the second optical fiber is always the first, It becomes smaller than the peak of the Brillouin scattered light spectrum of the three optical fibers. If the maximum value of the Brillouin scattered light spectrum is detected, the second optical fiber can be detected even in such a case. That is, even with the conventional optical test system configuration, the second optical fiber can be detected with high resolution. For this reason, the accuracy of the position where the second optical fiber is detected is improved, and the resolution is increased.

  By using the method for detecting the maximum value of the Brillouin scattered light spectrum in this way, it is possible to detect any short section or short optical fiber regardless of the pulse width.

[Embodiment 3]
As a test method for identifying each optical fiber at the branch destination in a branching optical line, an optical fiber designed to have a different Brillouin frequency shift is installed as a termination cable in front of a subscriber terminal, and the Brillouin of the termination cable is installed. An optical line test up to the user device, which measures the position where the frequency shift occurs, can be considered.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory view showing an optical line testing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 7 denotes an optical fiber in front of the optical splitter, which is a branched optical line provided with the optical splitter 8. An optical splitter 8 that equally divides the light is arranged between the intra-station transmission apparatus 1 and the subscriber terminals 5-1 to 5-4, and a plurality of subscriber terminals 5-1 to 5-4 constitute one in-station transmission apparatus 1. Can be transmitted. Brillouin scattering frequency shifts having different shift amounts by 300 MHz are assigned to the short second optical fibers 4-1 to 4-4 immediately before the subscriber terminal, and each optical fiber is identified for each designed frequency. The Brillouin scattered light spectrum is measured on this line. If the resolution depends on the normal pulse width, the short second optical fibers 4-1 to 4-4 immediately before the subscriber terminal are not detected. If a Brillouin frequency shift in a wide band is measured, each Brillouin frequency shift can be confirmed, so that it can be identified more easily.

  In this way, in the branch line test method for measuring the Brillouin scattered light spectrum, if the method of taking the maximum value is used, the identification function part of each line can be made small and not only can be easily identified, but also the second optical fiber Since it can be shortened, there is an advantage that the user side can be easily accommodated and can be easily adapted and introduced into an existing line system.

  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. In addition, 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 embodiment examples may be appropriately combined.

1 is a configuration explanatory view showing an optical line test system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a characteristic view which shows the spectrum of the Brillouin frequency shift for every time which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the abundance ratio of the length which exists in two optical fibers of the state of the pulse in each time which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a pulse width. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows the optical-line test method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is structure explanatory drawing which shows the conventional optical-line test system. It is structure explanatory drawing which shows the conventional optical-line test system. It is a characteristic view which shows the conventional Brillouin frequency shift spectrum.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Intra-station transmission apparatus, 2 ... Brillouin scattered light measuring device, 3 ... 1st optical fiber, 4 ... 2nd optical fiber with Brillouin frequency shift different from 1st optical fiber, 5 ... Subscriber terminal, 6 ... light receiving part in the subscriber terminal.

Claims (6)

By detecting the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light generated in the optical fiber of the optical fiber line connecting station transmission device and the subscriber terminal, an optical fiber line testing method for detecting an abnormality of the optical fiber line,
The optical fiber line to be measured is composed of a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber having a Brillouin frequency shift different from that of the first optical fiber. Ri part connects tare, that you detect abnormal by the optical fiber longitudinal direction of the change in the Brillouin frequency shift of the optical fiber line by detecting a plurality of maximum value and power change in the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light A characteristic optical line test method. 2. The optical line test method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of local maximum values and power changes in the frequency spectrum of the Brillouin backscattered light are detected using a Brillouin scattered light measuring instrument . In the optical line testing method according to claim 1 or 2, the optical line testing method characterized by between the subscriber terminal and the second optical fiber has an optical filter for blocking the test light pulses. 4. The optical line testing method according to claim 2 , wherein the second optical fiber includes a Brillouin frequency shift of a frequency outside the frequency range received by the light receiving unit of the Brillouin scattered light measuring device, or the second optical fiber. the third optical fiber line testing method characterized by connecting an optical fiber having a Brillouin frequency shift of the peak of smaller power than the power of the peak of the Brillouin frequency shift of. 5. The optical line testing method according to claim 1, wherein the length of the second optical fiber is wv / 2 or less, where w is a pulse width and v is a speed of light in the optical fiber. A method for testing an optical line, comprising : 6. The optical line test method according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber line to be measured is connected to an optical splitter and an optical fiber having a different Brillouin scattering frequency shift set below the optical splitter. An optical line testing method characterized by the above.

Images