Noise analysis in direct detection and coherent detection phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry systems.

This study compares noise and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in direct detection and coherent detection fiber-based distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) systems. Both detection schemes employ the dynamic analysis of Rayleigh-backscattered light in phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (ΦOTDR) systems. Through theoretical and experimental analysis, it is determined that for photodetection filters with a sufficiently narrow bandwidth, the SNR performance of both detection schemes is comparable. However, for filters with poor selectivity, coherent detection was found to exhibit superior performance. These findings provide crucial guidelines for the design of high-performance time-domain DAS systems.

Time-expanded φOTDR using low-frequency electronics.

Time expanded phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (TE-φOTDR) is a recently reported technique for distributed optical fiber sensing based on the interference of two mutually coherent optical frequency combs. This approach enables distributed acoustic sensing with centimeter resolution while keeping the detection bandwidth in the megahertz range. In this paper, we demonstrate that TE-φOTDR can be realized with low-frequency electronics for both signal generation and detection. This achievement is possible thanks to the use of a couple of electro-optic comb generators driven by commercially available step recovery diodes. These components are fed by radio frequencies that are orders of magnitude lower than those involved in the signals so far originated by ultrafast waveform generation. The result is a simple, compact, low-cost and potentially field-deployable sensor that works without resorting to any decoding algorithm. Besides, high-resolution distributed sensing is carried out with no need of coding strategies or enhanced backscatter fibers. To check the capabilities of our system, we perform distributed strain sensing over a range of 20 m. The spatial resolution is 3 cm and the acoustic sampling rate can be increased up to 200 Hz. This performance reveals the prospective of the proposed approach for field applications, including structural health monitoring.

Dynamic curvature sensing using time expanded ΦOTDR.

Shape sensing can be accomplished using optical fiber sensors through different interrogation principles such as fiber Bragg gratings, optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR), or optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR). These techniques are either not entirely distributed, have poor performance in dynamic sensing, or are only valid for few-meter-long fibers. Here, we present a system able to perform distributed curvature sensing with a range of 125 m, 10-cm resolution, and a sampling rate of 50 Hz. This is done by interrogating three cores of a multi-core fiber (MCF) with the novel, to the best of our knowledge, time-expanded phase-sensitive (TE-Φ)OTDR technique. This system fills a performance gap in fiber shape sensors, opening the door to applications in civil engineering, medicine, or seismology.

Dual electro-optic comb spectroscopy using a single pseudo-randomly driven modulator.

We present a dual-comb scheme based on a single intensity modulator driven by inexpensive board-level pseudo-random bit sequence generators. The result is a simplified architecture that exhibits a long mutual coherence time (up to 50 s) with no need of stabilization feedback loops or self-correction algorithms. Unlike approaches that employ ultrafast arbitrary waveform generators, our scheme makes it possible to produce long interferograms in the time domain, reducing the difference in the line spacing of the combs even below the hertz level. In order to check the system accuracy, we report two spectroscopic measurements with a frequency sampling of 140 MHz. All these results are analyzed and discussed to evaluate the potential of our scheme to implement a field-deployable dual-comb generator.

Cancellation of reference update-induced 1/f noise in a chirped-pulse DAS.

Distributed acoustic sensors (DAS) perform distributed and dynamic strain or temperature change measurements by comparing a measured time-domain trace with a previous fiber reference state. Large strain or temperature fluctuations or laser frequency noise impose the need to update such a reference, making it necessary to integrate the short-term variation measurements if absolute strain or temperature variations are to be obtained. This has the drawback of introducing a 1/f noise component, as noise is integrated with each cumulative variation measurement, which is detrimental to the determination of very slow processes (i.e., in the mHz frequency range or below). This work analyzes the long-term stability of chirped-pulse phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (CP-ΦOTDR) with multi-frequency database demodulation (MFDD) to carry out "calibrated" measurements in a DAS along an unmodified SMF. It is shown that, under the conditions studied in this work, a "calibrated" chirped-pulse DAS (CP-DAS) with a completely suppressed reference update-induced 1/f noise component is achieved capable of making measurements over periods of more than 2 months with the same set of references, even when switching off the interrogator during the measurement.

Quadratic phase coding for SNR improvement in time-expanded phase-sensitive OTDR.

Time-expanded phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (TE-ΦOTDR) is a dual-comb-based distributed optical fiber sensing technique capable of providing centimeter scale resolution while maintaining a remarkably low (MHz) detection bandwidth. Random spectral phase coding of the dual combs involved in the fiber interrogation process has been proposed as a means of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the sensor. In this Letter, we present a specific spectral phase coding methodology capable of further enlarging the SNR of TE-ΦOTDR. This approach is based on the use of a quadratic spectral phase to precisely control the peak power of the comb signals. As a result, an SNR improvement of up to 8 dB has been experimentally attained with respect to that based on the random phase coding previously reported.

Adult Versus Pediatric Relapse and Recurrence in Orbital Inflammatory Syndrome.

PURPOSE: Orbital inflammatory syndrome (OIS) is a diagnosis of exclusion that has a variable presentation and unpredictable course. Many studies report incomplete or lack of OIS resolution with high recurrence and relapse rates. No studies to date have investigated the characteristics of both recurrence and relapse in OIS. We sought to determine this in both pediatric and adult patients. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 56 patients with OIS was performed between 2004 and 2018. Forty-one patients were identified as adults greater than 18 years of age and 15 were identified as pediatric patients less than 18 years of age. RESULTS: Among 56 (41 adult and 15 pediatric) cases of OIS, 18 cases of recurrent disease (32.1%) were identified and 15 (26.8%) patients experienced relapses. All 6 (100%) pediatric patients that had recurrent disease initially suffered from relapses. In contrast, only 1 of the 12 (8.3%) recurrent adult cases initially experienced relapse. Of the 18 patients with recurrent disease, 9 (50%) had multiple recurrences. Underlying etiologies were confirmed in 5 of 18 recurrent cases (27.8%) and 5 of 38 (13.2%) non-recurrent cases. Of the 5 patients with recurrent OIS and an identified etiology, all 5 (100%) demonstrated multiple recurrences. CONCLUSIONS: In pediatric cases, relapse was more common and prior episodes of relapse were predictive of later recurrence. Recurrence was relatively common in both groups with half of the patients having multiple recurrences. Identifiable underlying etiologies were more common in patients with recurrent OIS and those cases all demonstrated multiple recurrences.

Monitoring of a Highly Flexible Aircraft Model Wing Using Time-Expanded Phase-Sensitive OTDR.

In recent years, the use of highly flexible wings in aerial vehicles (e.g., aircraft or drones) has been attracting increasing interest, as they are lightweight, which can improve fuel-efficiency and distinct flight performances. Continuous wing monitoring can provide valuable information to prevent fatal failures and optimize aircraft control. In this paper, we demonstrate the capabilities of a distributed optical fiber sensor based on time-expanded phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (TE-ΦOTDR) technology for structural health monitoring of highly flexible wings, including static (i.e., bend and torsion), and dynamic (e.g., vibration) structural deformation. This distributed sensing technology provides a remarkable spatial resolution of 2 cm, with detection and processing bandwidths well under the MHz, arising as a novel, highly efficient monitoring methodology for this kind of structure. Conventional optical fibers were embedded in two highly flexible specimens that represented an aircraft wing, and different bending and twisting movements were detected and quantified with high sensitivity and minimal intrusiveness.

Fast and direct measurement of the linear birefringence profile in standard single-mode optical fibers.

Phase birefringence in optical fibers typically fluctuates over their length due to geometrical imperfections induced from the drawing process or during installation. Currently commercially available fibers exhibit remarkably low birefringence, prompting a high standard for characterization methods. In this work, we detail a method that uses chirped-pulse phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry to directly measure position-resolved linear birefringence of single-mode optical fibers. The technique is suitable for fiber characterization over lengths of tens of kilometers, relying on a fast measurement ($ {\sim} 1\,\, {\rm s} $∼1s) with single-ended access to the fiber. The proposed method is experimentally validated with three different commercial single-mode optical fibers.

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Using Chirped-Pulse Phase-Sensitive OTDR Technology.

In 2016, a novel interrogation technique for phase-sensitive (Φ)OTDR was mathematically formalized and experimentally demonstrated, based on the use of a chirped-pulse as a probe, in an otherwise direct-detection-based standard setup: chirped-pulse (CP-)ΦOTDR. Despite its short lifetime, this methodology has now become a reference for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) due to its valuable advantages with respect to conventional (i.e., coherent-detection or frequency sweeping-based) interrogation strategies. Presenting intrinsic immunity to fading points and using direct detection, CP-ΦOTDR presents reliable high sensitivity measurements while keeping the cost and complexity of the setup bounded. Numerous technique analyses and contributions to study/improve its performance have been recently published, leading to a solid, highly competitive and extraordinarily simple method for distributed fibre sensing. The interesting sensing features achieved in these last years CP-ΦOTDR have motivated the use of this technology in diverse applications, such as seismology or civil engineering (monitoring of pipelines, train rails, etc.). Besides, new areas of application of this distributed sensor have been explored, based on distributed chemical (refractive index) and temperature-based transducer sensors. In this review, the principle of operation of CP-ΦOTDR is revisited, highlighting the particular performance characteristics of the technique and offering a comparison with alternative distributed sensing methods (with focus on coherent-detection-based ΦOTDR). The sensor is also characterized for operation in up to 100 km with a low cost-setup, showing performances close to the attainable limits for a given set of signal parameters [≈tens-hundreds of pe/sqrt(Hz)]. The areas of application of this sensing technology employed so far are briefly outlined in order to frame the technology.

SNR enhancement in high-resolution phase-sensitive OTDR systems using chirped pulse amplification concepts.

Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (φOTDR) is widely used for the distributed detection of mechanical or environmental variations with resolutions of typically a few meters. The spatial resolution of these distributed sensors is related to the temporal width of the input probe pulses. However, the input pulse width cannot be arbitrarily reduced (to improve the resolution), since a minimum pulse energy is required to achieve a good level of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the pulse peak power is limited by the advent of nonlinear effects. In this Letter, inspired by chirped pulse amplification concepts, we present a novel technique that allows us to increase the SNR by several orders of magnitude in φOTDR-based sensors while reaching spatial resolutions in the centimeter range. In particular, we report an SNR increase of 20 dB over the traditional architecture, which is able to detect strain events with a spatial resolution of 1.8 cm.

Time-domain Vander-Lugt filters for in-fiber complex (amplitude and phase) optical pulse shaping.

The time-domain counterpart of spatial Vander-Lugt filters is proposed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The concept enables reshaping an ultrashort optical pulse into a desired complex (amplitude and phase) arbitrary temporal pulse waveform using a setup configuration similar to that of previously demonstrated fiber-optic time-domain pulse-intensity shapers, i.e., using a single temporal amplitude modulator between two opposite-dispersive all-fiber media. The proposal is experimentally validated through reconfigurable generation of two complex-valued pulse shapes, namely, a 60 ps asymmetrical triangular pulse with controlled parabolic phase and a 4-symbol 16-QAM picosecond pulse code sequence.

Phase-sensitive OTDR probe pulse shapes robust against modulation-instability fading.

Typical phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (ϕOTDR) schemes rely on the use of coherent rectangular-shaped probe pulses. In these systems, there is a trade-off between the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spatial resolution, and operating range of the ϕOTDR system. To increase any of these parameters, an increase in the pulse peak power is usually indispensable. However, as it is well known, there is a limit in the allowable increase in probe power due to the onset of undesired nonlinear effects such as modulation instability. In this Letter, we perform an analysis of the effect of the probe pulse shape on the visibility fading due to modulation instability. In particular, four different temporal profiles are chosen: rectangular, Gaussian, triangular, and super-Gaussian (order 2). Our numerical and experimental analyses reveal that the use of triangular or Gaussian-like pulses can significantly inhibit the visibility fading issues. As such, an increase in the range up to twofold for the same pulse energy (i.e., SNR) and nominal spatial resolution can be achieved, as compared with the results obtained when using rectangular pulses. This is due to a more robust behavior of the Gaussian and triangular pulses against the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence occurring in modulation instability.

All-optical wavelength conversion based on time-domain holography: erratum.

Eq. (5.1) in our recently published manuscript is incorrect. We provide the correct equation for the effective phase mismatch of the wavelength converted signal under the conditions detailed in the manuscript.

All-optical wavelength conversion based on time-domain holography.

All-optical wavelength conversion of a complex (amplitude and phase) optical signal is proposed based on an all-optical implementation of time-domain holography. The temporal holograms are generated through a cross-phase modulation (XPM) process in a highly-nonlinear optical fiber, avoiding the necessity of accomplish the phase matching condition between the involved pump and probe signals, and reducing the power requirements compared to those of the traditional wavelength conversion implementations using four wave mixing (FWM). The proposed scheme also achieves symmetric conversion efficiency for up- and down-conversion. As a proof-of-concept, wavelength conversion of a train of 10 GHz chirped Gaussian-like pulses and their conjugated is experimentally demonstrated.

High-contrast linear optical pulse compression using a temporal hologram.

Temporal holograms can be realized by temporal amplitude-only modulation devices and used for generation and processing of complex (amplitude and phase) time-domain signals. Based on the temporal hologram concept, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate a novel design for linear optical pulse compression using temporal modulation of continuous-wave light combined with dispersion. The newly introduced scheme overcomes the undesired background problem that is intrinsic to designs based on temporal zone plates, while also offering an energy efficiency of ~25%. This pulse compression scheme can ideally provide an arbitrarily high time-bandwidth product using a low peak-power modulation driving signal, though in practice it is limited by the achievable modulation bandwidth and dispersion amount.

Temporal phase conjugation based on time-domain holography.

A novel, simple method for wavelength-preserving temporal phase conjugation (TPC) of complex optical waveforms is proposed and experimentally validated. The method is based on the concept of time-domain holography; it requires direct photo-detection of the original waveform mixed with a CW light beam (temporal hologram recording), followed by intensity-only modulation of a second CW light source with the photo-detected interference-like pattern. The conjugated signal is directly obtained from the modulated light through an optical bandpass filtering process, without requiring any further processing on the detected interferogram. The proposed scheme is successfully demonstrated by conjugating a train of arbitrarily chirped Gaussian-like pulses and a 3 Gbps 16-QAM data stream.

THz-bandwidth photonic Hilbert transformers based on fiber Bragg gratings in transmission.

THz-bandwidth photonic Hilbert transformers (PHTs) are implemented for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology. To increase the practical bandwidth limitation of FBGs (typically <200 GHz), a superstructure based on two superimposed linearly-chirped FBGs operating in transmission has been employed. The use of a transmission FBG involves first a conversion of the non-minimum phase response of the PHT into a minimum-phase response by adding an anticipated instantaneous component to the desired system temporal impulse response. Using this methodology, a 3-THz-bandwidth integer PHT and a fractional (order 0.81) PHT are designed, fabricated, and successfully characterized.

Tunable, nondispersive optical filter using photonic Hilbert transformation.

We propose and numerically demonstrate a new design concept for implementing nondispersive complementary (band-pass/band-reject) optical filters with a wide range of bandwidth tunability. The device consists of two photonic Hilbert transformers (PHTs) incorporated into a Michelson interferometer (MI). By controlling the central frequency of PHTs with respect to each other, both the central frequency and the spectral width of the rejection/pass bands of the filter are proved to be tunable. Bandwidth tuning from 260 MHz to 60 GHz is numerically demonstrated using two readily feasible fiber Bragg grating-based PHTs. The designed filter offers a high extinction ratio between the pass band and rejection band (>20 dB in the narrow-band filtering case) with a very sharp transition with a slope of 170 dB/GHz from rejection to pass band.

Terahertz-bandwidth photonic fractional Hilbert transformer based on a phase-shifted waveguide Bragg grating on silicon.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the first THz bandwidth on-chip photonic fractional Hilbert transformer. The reported design uses a novel approach, based on a uniform and nonapodized single phase-shifted integrated waveguide Bragg grating on silicon, where the fractional order P can be engineered by simply varying the effective index modulation δn. Experimental results for P=1.5 show very low processing error for a broad range of pulse bandwidths between 77 GHz and 2.07 THz, corresponding to a time-bandwidth product as high as 27.