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.

Subpeaks in the Brillouin loss spectra of distributed fiber-optic sensors.

Subpeaks in the Brillouin loss spectra of distributed fiber-optic sensors were observed for what is believed to be the first time and studied. We discovered that the Fourier spectrum of the pulsed signal and the off-resonance oscillation both contributed to subpeaks. The off-resonance oscillation at frequency /v - vB/ is the oscillation in the Brillouin time domain when beat frequency v of the two counterpropagating laser beams does not match local Brillouin frequency vB.

Effect of optical phase on a distributed Brillouin sensor at centimeter spatial resolution.

Because of the power imbalance between the two arms of an interferometer in an electro-optic modulator (EOM), the output of the EOM is combined amplitude modulation (AM) and phase modulation (PM) for the probe signal consisting of the pulse and the dc component. Because of this PM, the Brillouin gain-loss spectrum becomes asymmetric. The central Brillouin frequency is shifted from that of an AM pulse.

Brillouin spectral deconvolution method for centimeter spatial resolution and high-accuracy strain measurement in Brillouin sensors.

Combining a dc and a short pulse (approximately 1 ns) as the probe beam in the pump-probe configuration of Brillouin-based distributed sensors allows us to represent the Brillouin spectrum as a top Lorentzian-like portion and a bottom Gaussian-like portion. Because of the interaction of these two parts, the Lorentzian-like portion carries spatial information that can be extracted within centimeter spatial resolution. Using this information, we develop a spectrum deconvolution method, which considers the location correlation of the strain distribution, to find the number of Brillouin peaks and their frequencies in the top Lorentzian-like portion and hence achieve accurate strain information.

Coherent probe-pump-based Brillouin sensor for centimeter-crack detection.

We provide a theoretical explanation for a coherent probe-pump-based Brillouin sensor system that achieves centimeter spatial resolution with high-frequency resolution. It was recently discovered that, when a combination of cw and pulsed light (the probe beam) interacts with a cw laser (the pump beam), centimeter spatial resolution with high-frequency resolution can be achieved even though the probe-pulse duration is 1.5 ns [Opt.

Dependence of the brillouin frequency shift on strain and temperature in a photonic crystal fiber.

The dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift on strain in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) was measured at a wavelength of 1320 nm for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Together with measurements of the dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift on temperature in the PCF, we demonstrate the feasibility of the highly precise simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain by use of the PCF in a distributed Brillouin sensing system with a spatial resolution of 15 cm.

Distributed brillouin scattering sensor for discrimination of wall-thinning defects in steel pipe under internal pressure.

A distributed Brillouin scattering sensor has been employed to identify several inner wall cutouts in an end-capped steel pipe by measuring the axial and hoop strain distributions along the outer surface of the pipe. The locations of structural indentations that constitute 50-60% of the inner pipe wall are found and distinguished by use of their corresponding strain-pressure data. These results are quantified in terms of the fiber orientation, defect size and depth, and behavior relative to those of unperturbed pipe sections.

Brillouin scattering spectrum in photonic crystal fiber with a partially germanium-doped core.

The Brillouin scattering spectrum in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a partially Ge-doped core is measured with a pump-probe technique at a wavelength of 1320 nm. One main peak and four subpeaks are observed. The main peak has a Lorentzian shape with the bandwidth deltanuB = 66 MHz.