Patent · US Expired

Optical fiber characteristic measuring device

US5686986A · kind A · utility

30Cited by
1References
6Claims
0Family size

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Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 25, 1996
Grant dateNov 11, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 25, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01M11/33
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Coherent light emitted from a coherent light source 1 is sent as a probe beam through a connector 31 into an optical fiber being measured. A portion of this beam is sent to an optical frequency converter 100 to form an optical pulse train having a frequency which is frequency-swept in steps of a designated frequency at a designated periodicity, and an optical pulse having a designated frequency is extracted from the optical pulse train by an electro-optic switch 18 and sent to the optical fiber being measured. Then, a signal beam exiting the optical fiber being measured is heterodyne-received by means of a local beam passing through either a connecting optical fiber 6 side or a frequency shifter 7 side according to the selection of optical switches 4 and 5. Consequently, it is possible to measure the characteristics of the optical fiber by means of a BOTDR, BOTDA or a COTDR.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.