RT info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject T1 Simple method for the elimination of polarization noise in BOTDA using balanced detection of orthogonally polarized Stokes and anti-Stokes probe sidebands A1 López Gil, Alexia Inés A1 Domínguez López, Alejandro A1 Martín López, Sonia A1 González Herráez, Miguel K1 Balanced detection K1 Brillouin Scattering K1 Distributed optic fiber sensor K1 Polarization noise K1 Ciencias tecnológicas K1 Electrónica K1 Technology K1 Electronics AB Given the strong polarization sensitivity of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), in Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) it turns out to be indispensable to perform some kind of polarization scrambling, either in the pump pulse, or the probe signal (or both). This is usually accomplished using polarization scrambling/switching systems, which, being mechanical, tend to be not as robust as it would be desirable. In this paper we propose a completely passive system, with no moving parts, to perform the polarization scrambling in a BOTDA. It is based on the use of balanced detection among the orthogonally polarized Stokes and anti-Stokes bands of the probe signal. The setup requires no alignment and provides a performance similar to a conventional BOTDA sensor PB Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) SN 9781628411751 SN 0277-786X YR 2014 FD 2014-06-02 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/26505 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/26505 LA eng NO 23rd International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS23), Santander (Cantabria), Spain, 2-6 June, 2014. NO European Commission DS MINDS@UW RD 28-mar-2024