Method and apparatus for generation and transmission of high energy optical pulses for long range measurements
US8005323B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 2004 |
| Grant date | Aug 23, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 13, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01D5/35364
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for generating and transmitting high energy optical pulses are described. Distributed temperature sensors usually use Raman scattering in optical fibers as the means to determine the temperature. Here, light from a laser source is sent down a fiber and the small amount of light that is scattered back towards the source is analysed. As the fiber length increases, the resolutions of the temperature and loss measurements become poorer. This is because losses in an optical fiber attenuate the signal. An obvious solution to this problem is to launch more light into the fiber to compensate for the losses but stimulated Raman scattering limits how much light may be launched. The present invention solves this problem by using a pulse conversion method to maximize the resultant pulse energy while the power is kept below SRS threshold.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.