Multi-wavelength time domain reflectometer

• US 4,904,864 A
• Filed: 12/10/1987
• Issued: 02/27/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GEC Aerospace Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Plessey Overseas Limited (Marconi Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Pratt, David J., Dakin, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David C.
• Application Number:
  US07/131,166
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 250/227, 250/231 R, 250/231 P, 250/226, 356/73.1
• US Class Current: 250/227.18
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/004 Continuous recalibration
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/268 using optical fibres G01D5/28 - G01D5/38 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 11/32 using changes in transmittance, scattering or luminescence in optical fibres

Abstract

An optical time domain reflectometry system in which laser level reference signals are derived from the respective laser outputs from the laser sources and fed into a single receiver provided for receiving the back-scattered or returned light along an optical fibre. The receiver is thus continuously calibrated in accordance with the relative intensities of the optical signals at different frequencies being launched into the optical fibre so that the receiver provides an accurate measurement of temperature or other parameter being measured by the system.

Claims

1. In an optical sensing system, in which optical pulse outputs of different wavelengths are launched at a launch end into optical fiber means through which returned optical signals are conducted for respective detection at the different wavelengths at the launch end with respect to time by one receiver indicating intensity levels of said returned optical signals corresponding to a parameter being measured, a method of continuously calibrating the receiver, including the steps of:

extracting level reference signals directly from the respective optical pulse outputs at the different wavelengths; and

feeding back into the receiver said level reference signals varying in accordance with the relative intensity levels of the optical pulse outputs at the different wavelengths being launched into the optical fiber means so that the receiver provides an accurate indication of the parameter being measured.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which optical time domain reflectometry techniques are used for determining the parameter.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, in which the respective optical pulse outputs are combined and the combined outputs are launched into an optical fiber sensor after extraction of the level reference signals therefrom for sensing a temperature profile as the parameter being measured.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, in which all of the combined outputs are returned from the optical fiber sensor as return signals;

filtering out all wavelengths of the return signals except the Roman wavelengths; and

feeding the filtered return signals to the receiver being continuously calibrated by the feedback of the level reference signals.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the optical fiber means includes an optical temperature responsive fiber sensor which is doped with material which absorbs light in dependence upon temperature.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which a chemical sensor which responds to the spectrophotometric properties of chemical material interacts chemically with reactants to measure the parameter.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which optical transmission of the level reference signals to the receiver are delayed to avoid confusion between the level reference signals and other signals returned to the receiver.