KR100492193B1 - Optical Time Domain Reflectometer - Google Patents

Abstract

By mounting a plurality of light sources of different wavelengths and driving each light source individually, it has the function of measuring the optical fiber loss / reflection characteristics at each wavelength. Disclosed is an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer) that can measure additional optical characteristics such as Raman gain constant, Raman gain effective distance, and double rail scattering by selecting and receiving scattering. The Raman gain constant and effective distance measured by the OTDR of the present invention and the optical fiber loss / reflection characteristics of the pump and the signal wavelength band can be used for the performance prediction and optimization of the Raman amplifier with multiple pumps. In addition, by measuring the effective distance in real time applied to the already installed Raman amplifier, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine the location and cause of the failure in the amplifier to facilitate the recovery of the failure, and to prevent the failure in advance, It is easy to maintain and repair and further improve the stability of the whole system.

Description

ＯＴＤＲ {Optical Time Domain Reflectometer}

The present invention relates to OTDR, in particular, by selectively receiving only Rayleigh backscatter at only one light source wavelength while simultaneously driving a plurality of light sources, such as the Raman gain constant of the optical fiber, Raman gain effective distance, double rail line scattering, etc. The present invention relates to an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) capable of measuring characteristic values.

Recently, with the development of a pump light source having a high output in the 1.4㎛ band, Raman Fiber Amplifier (RFA) has attracted attention as a next-generation amplifier that can respond to the rapidly increasing transmission band requirements. However, in the case of constructing a wideband Raman amplifier using multiple pump light sources, the Raman amplifier has a number of factors such as the interaction due to induced Raman scattering between pumps, double Rayleigh scattering and polarization dependence between pump and signal. The interpretation of the exact principle of operation and characteristics is very complicated. In particular, in the case of an optical fiber Raman amplifier using an existing laid optical fiber as an amplification medium, since the amplification is performed inside a long optical fiber, it is very difficult to accurately measure internal parameters such as Raman gain constant and Raman gain effective distance. It is a major factor that makes the interpretation and optimization of amplifiers difficult.

Accordingly, the technical problem of the present invention is to provide an OTDR that can accurately and quickly measure optical fiber internal parameters such as Raman gain constant and Raman gain effective distance required for the analysis and optimization of an optical fiber Raman amplifier.

The OTDR of the present invention for solving the above technical problems is:

A plurality of light sources for outputting light having different wavelengths;

A continuous drive device for providing a continuous drive for the light sources;

A pulse generator for providing pulse driving for the light sources;

A drive for selecting one of the continuous drive, the pulse drive and the non-drive for each of the light sources, and selectively connecting the continuous drive device and the pulse generator to the light sources such that one of the light sources is pulse driven; Selection means;

A wavelength division multiplexer for connecting the light output from the light sources into one;

Input means for inputting the light from the wavelength division multiplexer to the optical fiber to be measured and inputting signals from the measurement optical fiber to the rear Ray-ray scattered signal to an optical receiver;

And removing means for removing the rear Ray-ray scattering signal of the light sources continuously driven by the driving device so that only the rear Rail-ray scattering signal of the pulsed light source is input to the optical receiver,

The Raman gain effective distance is calculated by Equation 1 for single or multiple pumps.

Where L is the length of the entire optical fiber and Pp (z) is the power at a distance z from the point where the signal light source is incident

The ratio of the Raman gain constant and the effective area is calculated by Equation 2,

Where P _p (L) is the signal power at position z, G is Raman gain, g ₀ is Raman gain constant, and A _eff is the effective area.

It features the measurement of internal fiber optic parameters for the analysis and optimization of Raman amplifiers for single and multiple pumps.

In the present invention, the drive selection means is:

A pulse 1: n electric switch for receiving a pulse from the pulse generator as an input and outputting the pulse to any one of n output terminals;

One of its input terminals is connected to the output terminal of the pulse 1: n electric switch, the other of the magnetic input terminal is connected to the continuous drive device, and its output terminal is any one of the plurality of light sources. Is connected to, and provided with a 1: 2 electrical switch for the light source to enable any one of the continuous drive, pulse drive and non-drive for any one of the connected light source,

The pulsed 1: n electric switch and the 1: 2 electric switch for the light source may be linked so that one of the light sources necessarily pulses. Where n is the number of light sources.

In addition, an optical rotator or a 3 kHz connector can be used as the input means.

A band pass filter may be used as the removing means. The band pass filter may be easily implemented by those skilled in the art using a Fabry-Perot resonator, an optical fiber Bragg grating, an optical mirror, an optical waveguide, a 3 dB connector, or the like.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of an OTDR according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that laser diodes 100a, 100b, and 100c having output wavelengths of 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm are used as a plurality of light sources. Each of the laser diodes 100a, 100b, 100c is connected to the output terminal of any one of 1: 2 electrical switches 110a, 110b, 110c for a light source having two input terminals and one output terminal. One of the two input terminals (a) of the 1: 2 electric switch for each light source is connected with a CW-LD Driver (Continuous-Wave Laser Diode Driver) so that the OTDR as a whole has three continuous drives. 120a, 120b, and 120c are provided. On the other hand, the pulse generator 130 is provided to implement the selective pulse operation for the laser diodes (100a, 100b, 100c), the pulse from the pulse generator 130 is applied to the pulse 1: 3 electrical switch 140 The three output terminals of this electrical switch 140 are connected to the other one (b) of the two input terminals of the 1: 2 electrical switch for each light source. Thus, each of the laser diodes 100a, 100b, 100c operates in the following three ways, depending on the respective selection of the 1: 2 electrical switches 110a, 110b, 110c for the light source.

1) When the input terminal of the 1: 2 electric switch for light source is connected to the output terminal of the continuous drive, the laser diode operates in continuous drive.

2) 1: 3 electrical for pulses so that the input terminal of the 1: 2 electrical switch for the light source is connected to any one of the three output terminals of the 1: 3 electrical switch for the pulse and the output of the pulse generator exits through the connected output terminal. When the switch is activated, the laser diode is pulse driven.

3) Although the input terminal of the 1: 2 electrical switch for the light source is connected to any one of the three output terminals of the 1: 3 electrical switch for the pulse, the pulsed 1: 3 electrical switch does not allow the output of the pulse generator to exit through the connected output terminal. When the switch is activated, the laser diode is deactivated.

According to such a switch connection, when the input terminal of all 1: 2 electrical switches 110a, 110b, 110c for all light sources is connected to the output terminal of the continuous drive device, all of the laser diodes 100a, 100b, 100c operate in continuous driving. Done. However, when all the laser diodes 100a, 100b, 100c operate in continuous drive, they cannot function as OTDR, so that one laser diode can operate in pulse driving so that one laser switch can operate in pulse driving. 110a, 110b, and 110c and the 1: 3 electric switch 140 for the pulse are interlocked. Implementing such an interlock can be easily achieved by the control device for controlling the electrical switch will not be described separately.

If only one (b) of the two input terminals of the 1: 2 electrical switch for the light source is connected to the three output terminals of the 1: 3 electrical switch 140 for the pulse, only one laser diode is pulsed. It is operated by driving. This means that the OTDR according to the embodiment of the present invention already has the function of performing the same measurement as the existing OTDR having only one light source operating in pulse driving.

By the proper connection of the 1: 2 electrical switches 110a, 110b, 110c and the 1: 3 electrical switch 140 for pulses, the two laser diodes operate in continuous drive and the other laser diode operates in pulse drive. In this case, the OTDR according to an embodiment of the present invention can measure internal optical fiber parameters of a Raman amplifier using multiple pumps.

On the other hand, the respective outputs from the laser diodes (100a, 100b, 100c) are combined into a Wavelength Division Multiplexer (WDM) 150, then through an optical circulator 160, and then the optical connector 170 It enters into the measurement target optical fiber (not shown) connected by).

Rayleigh Back Scattering signals from the optical fiber to be measured are passed through the optical rotator 160 and input to the Tunable Bandpass Filter 180. The filter 180 is adjusted to remove the signal from the continuously driven light source and to pass only the signal of the pulse driven light source wavelength. The output light passing through the variable bandpass filter 180 is converted into a voltage signal by a photodetector 190, and then passes through the amplifier 192 and the A / D converter 194, and then the signal processor 196. Is processed in The processed output signal may be displayed by the display device 198 to enable visual presentation.

2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for measuring actual optical fiber parameters using the OTDR of the present invention. After passing through the optical rotator 160 (see FIG. 1) inside the OTDR 10 of the present invention, the optical power connected to the outside by the optical connector 170 (see FIG. 1) is again divided into 1.4 μm / 1.5 μm first wavelength division. The dispersion cloth is input to the dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) 210 through the connector 200. The dispersion transition optical fiber 210 used in this measurement as the measurement target optical fiber was a total of 40 km, and was constructed by fusion and connection of two optical fiber spools each having a length of 20 km. At this time, in order to measure the actual Raman gain, a Tunable External Cavity Laser (TECL; 220), a Variable Attenuator (VA; 230), and an Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA) 240 are shown in FIG. Configure together. The variable external resonance laser 220 is used as a signal light source for measuring Raman gain, and the variable attenuator 230 is used to attenuate the output of the variable external resonance laser 220 to an appropriate level. The optical spectrum analyzer 240 measures an actual Raman gain spectrum as a device for measuring optical power with respect to a wavelength. On the other hand, by using the 1.4 μm / 1.5 μm second wavelength division connector 250 on the opposite side connected to the OTDR 10 to remove the remaining signal light after passing through the dispersion transition optical fiber 210 to the variable external resonance laser 220. Do not affect.

On the other hand, the effective distance L _eff from the measured result is represented by the following equation (1).

[Equation 1]

Where L is the length of the entire optical fiber 210, and Pp (z) represents the optical power at a point z at a point where the OTDR 10 light source is incident. Meanwhile, since the OTDR 10 light source is connected to the optical fiber 210 in the opposite direction to the variable external resonant laser 220 used as the signal light source, Pp (L) means pump power input to the optical fiber 210.

On the other hand, the equation for the ratio of the Raman gain constant and the effective area is given by Equation 2.

[Equation 2]

Where P _s (z) is the power of the OTDR 10 light source at position z, G is Raman gain, g ₀ is Raman gain constant, and A _eff is an effective region.

3 is a measurement of the optical fiber loss and reflection characteristics at 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm obtained by driving only one light source as measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the discontinuous change of the continuous state of the curve in the ellipse at the 20 km point is measured by the loss of Fusion splicing.

On the other hand, as shown in Equation 1, the effective distance of the optical fiber Raman amplifier is represented by the integral of the change ratio with respect to the distance of the input OTDR light source power, and when the result of FIG. 3 is substituted into Equation 1, 1420 nm is calculated. Effective distances at 1,435 nm and 1450 nm can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2 and shows Raman gain measurement results for a single pump when the wavelength is 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm, respectively. 6 is a ratio calculation result of the Raman gain constant and the effective area obtained by substituting the results of FIGS. 4 and 5 into Equation 2. FIG.

FIG. 7 is an optical fiber loss and reflection characteristic at 1420 nm for a multiple pump obtained by continuously driving 1435 nm and 1450 nm light sources and pulse driving only a 1420 nm light source as measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1420 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG. Referring to FIG. 7 from the above results, it can be seen that the power of the OTDR signal light source is more attenuated than the case of the 1420 nm single pump obtained in FIG. 4. This is because Stimulated Raman Scattering, which is the principle of Raman amplifiers, consists only of energy transfer from short wavelengths to long wavelengths. That is, in the case of the 1420 nm light source, the energy is transferred to 1450 nm and 1435 nm, but cannot be transferred. As a result, in the case of 1420 nm, the effective distance for multiple pumps becomes shorter than the effective distance for a single pump. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the larger the power of the light source of 1435 nm or 1450 nm, the greater the energy transfer, resulting in greater attenuation and consequently shorter effective distance.

FIG. 9 is measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2 and shows optical fiber loss and reflection characteristics at 1435 nm for a multiple pump obtained by continuously driving 1420 nm and 1450 nm light sources and pulse driving only 1435 nm light sources. FIG. 10 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1435 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG. As described above, in the case of the light source of 1435 nm, energy is transferred from the light source of 1420 nm and the energy of the light source of 1450 nm. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the effective distance increases when the power of the light source at 1420 nm increases, and the effective distance decreases when the power of the light source at 1450 nm increases. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the two effects are canceled with each other so that a large difference does not occur in the loss characteristic between the case of a single pump and a case of multiple pumps, and as a result, the effective distance does not significantly differ.

11 is an optical fiber loss and reflection characteristic at 1450 nm for a multipump obtained by continuously driving 1420 nm and 1435 nm light sources and pulse driving only 1450 nm light sources as measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2. 12 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1450 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG. In this case, since both the light sources of 1420 nm and 1435 nm transfer energy to 1450 nm, the attenuation occurs much less as shown in FIG. 11, and as a result, the effective distance for the multiple pumps as shown in FIG. It is much higher than that. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, as the light source power of 1420 nm or 1435 nm increases, more energy transfer occurs, thereby increasing the effective distance.

According to the present invention, the internal parameters of the optical fiber Raman amplifier for single and multiple pumps can be measured accurately. The measurements obtained are used for accurate analysis and optimization of the fiber Raman amplifier. In addition, the actual fiber-optic Raman amplifier can be measured without disassembly at all, so that in the event of a failure, the cause and location of the failure can be immediately identified, and furthermore, continuous monitoring can eliminate the cause of the failure in advance. The cost can be reduced and the stability of the entire optical transmission system can be greatly improved.

1 is a block diagram of an OTDR having a function of measuring internal characteristics of an optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for measuring optical fiber internal characteristics using the OTDR of the block diagram of FIG.

3 is an optical fiber loss and reflection characteristic at 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm obtained by driving only one light source as measured in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2;

4 is an effective distance calculation result at 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm obtained by substituting the result of FIG.

5 is measured in the configuration of Figure 2, the Raman gain measurement results for a single pump when the wavelength is 1420nm, 1435nm, 1450nm, respectively;

6 is a ratio calculation result of the Raman gain constant and the effective area obtained by substituting the results of FIGS. 4 and 5 into Equation 2;

FIG. 7 is an optical fiber loss and reflection characteristic at 1420 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multipump as measured in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1420 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG.

9 is an optical fiber loss, reflection characteristic at 1435 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multipump as measured in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1435 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG.

FIG. 11 is an optical fiber loss, reflection characteristic at 1450 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multipump as measured in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2; And

12 is a Raman gain effective distance calculation result at 1450 nm for a 1420 nm, 1435 nm, and 1450 nm multiple pump obtained by substituting the result of FIG.

Claims (4)

A plurality of light sources for outputting light having different wavelengths; A continuous drive device for providing a continuous drive for the light sources; A pulse generator for providing pulse driving for the light sources; A drive for selecting one of the continuous drive, the pulse drive and the non-drive for each of the light sources, and selectively connecting the continuous drive device and the pulse generator to the light sources such that one of the light sources is pulse driven; Selection means; A wavelength division multiplexer for connecting the light output from the light sources into one; Input means for inputting the light from the wavelength division multiplexer to the optical fiber to be measured and inputting signals from the measurement optical fiber to the rear Ray-ray scattered signal to an optical receiver; And removing means for removing the rear Ray-ray scattering signal of the light sources continuously driven by the driving device so that only the rear Rail-ray scattering signal of the pulsed light source is input to the optical receiver, The Raman gain effective distance is calculated by Equation 1 for single or multiple pumps. [Equation 1] Where L is the length of the entire optical fiber, and Pp (z) is the power at the point z at the point where the signal light source is incident, The ratio of the Raman gain constant and the effective area is calculated by Equation 2, [Equation 2] Where P _p (L) is the signal power at position z, G is Raman gain, g ₀ is Raman gain constant, and A _eff is the effective area, OTDR, characterized by the measurement of the internal parameters of the fiber required for the analysis and optimization of Raman amplifiers for single and multiple pumps. The method of claim 1 wherein the drive selection means is: A pulse 1: n electric switch for receiving a pulse from the pulse generator as an input and outputting the pulse to any one of n output terminals; One of its input terminals is connected to the output terminal of the pulse 1: n electric switch, the other of the magnetic input terminal is connected to the continuous drive device, and its output terminal is any one of the plurality of light sources. Is connected to, and provided with a 1: 2 electrical switch for the light source to enable any one of the continuous drive, pulse drive and non-drive for any one of the connected light source, OTDR, wherein n is the number of light sources, wherein the 1: n electric switch for pulses and the 1: 2 electric switch for light sources are interlocked so that one of the light sources necessarily pulses. The OTDR according to claim 1, wherein the input means is an optical rotator or a 3 kHz connector. An OTDR according to claim 1, wherein said removing means is a bandpass filter.