Brillouin gain spectrum characterization in single-mode optical fibers

Author

Niklès, Marc ; Thèvenaz, Luc ; Robert, Philippe A.

Author_Institution

Lab. of Metrol., Swiss Federal Inst. of Technol., Lausanne, Switzerland

Volume

15

Issue

10

fYear

1997

fDate

10/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1842

Lastpage

1851

Abstract

A novel method for Brillouin gain spectrum measurements in optical fibers is presented. It is based on the pump and probe technique with the specificity to use a single laser source together with an external modulator to generate the interacting lightwaves. The high accuracy and inherent stability of the technique makes it suitable for calibration and reference measurements. Different fibers with different refractive index profiles have been tested and characterized. The problem of the evolution of the polarization of the interacting waves is addressed in the article and a polarization insensitive determination of the actual Brillouin gain coefficient is made possible through two successive measurements with different polarizations. The effects of strain and temperature on the Brillouin gain spectrum are also fully characterized

Keywords

calibration; optical fibre testing; piezo-optical effects; stimulated Brillouin scattering; thermo-optical effects; Brillouin gain spectrum characterization; calibration; external modulator; high accuracy; interacting lightwaves; polarization; polarization insensitive determination; pump and probe technique; reference measurements; refractive index profiles; single laser source; single-mode optical fibers; stability; strain effects; temperature effects; Fiber lasers; Gain measurement; Laser excitation; Optical fibers; Optical modulation; Optical pumping; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Probes; Pump lasers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.633570

Filename

633570