Distributed brillouin sensing systems and methods using few-mode sensing optical fiber
US8493556B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 5, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jul 23, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 5, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01L1/246
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Some embodiments of a distributed Brillouin optical fiber sensing system employs a sensing optical fiber that supports two or more (i.e., few) guided modes. Pump light supported by one of the guided modes is used to form a dynamic Brillouin grating (DBG). Probe light supported by at least one of the other guided modes interacts with the DBG to form reflected probe light that is received and analyzed to determine a Brillouin frequency shift, a phase matching wavelength between probe and pump light, a reflection location, which in turn allows for making a measurement of at least one condition along the sensing optical fiber. Supporting the pump and probe light in different guided modes results in the optical fiber sensing system being able to simultaneously measure temperature and strain and having a higher spatial resolution than sensing systems where the pump light and probe light share a common guided mode.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.