Distributed Brillouin sensor system based on offset locking of two distributed feedback lasers.

An offset locking technique, which uses an external optical delay line to tune the distributed feedback (DFB) laser frequency and a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller to lock the tuned frequency, is proposed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, in the distributed Brillouin sensor system. This method provides large tuning range (greater than 1 GHz), high tuning speed (less than 100 mus per frequency step), and frequency tuning is independent of the laser frequency and power. The two DFB lasers are phase locked at the Brillouin frequency using a hardware PID controller.

Stabilization of electro-optic modulator bias voltage drift using a lock-in amplifier and a proportional-integral-derivative controller in a distributed Brillouin sensor system.

In a distributed Brillouin sensor system, it is crucial to keep the pulse energy uniform for a constant signal-to-noise ratio. This means that the variable dc leakage (pulse base) for the electro-optic modulator (EOM) must be locked. We examine two different methods of locking the EOM bias voltage and look at the advantages and disadvantages of each locking method.

Theoretical study of the effect of slow light on BOTDA spatial resolution.

Due to the resonant nature of Brillouin scattering, delay occurs while pulse is propagating in an optical fiber. This effect influences the location accuracy of distributed Brillouin sensors. The maximum delay in sensing fibers depends on length, position, pump and Stokes powers.

Effect of Brillouin slow light on distributed Brillouin fiber sensors.

The effect of Brillouin slow light on distributed Brillouin fiber sensors (DBFSs) is studied. We demonstrate Brillouin slow light for a 1.2 ns pulse with peak powers (PS) from 3.

Distributed Brillouin fiber sensor for detecting pipeline buckling in an energy pipe under internal pressure.

A distributed Brillouin fiber sensor has been employed to detect localized pipe-wall buckling in an energy pipe by measuring the longitudinal and hoop strain distributions along the outer surface of the pipe for the first time. The locations of the localized pipe-wall buckling are found and distinguished using their corresponding strain-load data. The formation of the buckling process for the compression and tension characters is studied in the longitudinal and hoop directions.

Simple method to identify the spatial location better than the pulse length with high strain accuracy.

The second-order partial derivative of the Stokes signal with respect to frequency and position shows a maximum or minimum at the boundary between two different strained sections. This idea is used to locate the boundary of different stress regions. Knowing the boundaries, we then fit the Brillouin spectrum at the middle between them to get the strain value.

Simple approach to determining the minimum measurable stress length and stress measurement accuracy in distributed Brillouin sensing.

A simple approach is proposed for quantifying the errors in measuring the Brillouin frequency shifts associated with stresses whose lengths are shorter than the pulse length. The smallest detectable Brillouin frequency shift is thus determined with respect to the size of the stressed sections and the frequency resolution. The lowest detectable frequency shift is found to be approximately 42% of the Brillouin gain natural linewidth.