Phase-measuring time-gated BOCDA

Abstract

We demonstrate a simple scheme that allows performing distributed Brillouin phase spectrum (BPS) measurements with very high spatial resolution (~7 cm) over long (~4.7 km) optical fibers. This is achieved by inserting a Sagnac interferometer (SI) in a Brillouin optical correlation domain analysis (BOCDA) configuration. Over its already-presented time-domain equivalent (SI-BOTDA), this approach reduces the main source of noise (coherent backscatter noise) thanks to the low-coherence nature of the used signals. On the other hand, over the most usual schemes used for distributed BPS measurements, this implementation presents the key advantage of not requiring high-bandwidth detection or complex modulation while reaching unprecedented values of spatial resolution and number of resolved points for this type of measurement. Thanks to the linear dependence of the BPS feature around the Brillouin frequency shift, this scheme could also have the advantage of requiring shorter scanning ranges than amplitude-based configurations.