Fiber Optic Component Characterization
Dispersion, PMD, Loss, Measurement

Overview of optical vector network analyzer for single scan measurements of loss, group delay and polarization mode dispersion (PDF)
A white paper describing the Optical Vector Analyzer

Optical vector analysis integrates component testing - Lightwave (HTML)
Introduction to optical vector analysis and it’s applications in optical component testing.

Interferometric measurement of dispersion (PDF)
Introduction to using interferometry to measure dispersion in optical components.

Linear Systems Approach to Characterizing Components (PDF)
Introduction to component characterization using linear systems theory.

Interferometric instrumentation combined with linear systems theory yields BER modeling from component measurement (PDF)
Short introduction to how Optical Vector Analysis can be used to predict component performance based on eye-diagram and power penalty simulations.

Second Order PMD in Optical Components (PDF)
Introduction to measuring second order polarization mode dispersion in optical components (SOPMD)

Characterization of femtosecond first and second-order PMD (PDF)
A comparison of measurement results for SOPMD using Optical Vector Analysis

Optical vector network analyzer for single-scan measurements of loss, group delay, and
polarization mode dispersion as appeared in Applied Optics (PDF)
Overview of method and theory behind the optical vector network analyzer's ability to complete single-scan measurements of loss, group delay, and polarization mode dispersion

Characterizing the optical properties of planar waveguides, optical chips and planar light circuits (HTML)
An application note discussing optical vector analysis's distinct measurement advantages that make it particularly well suited for characterization and analysis of planar waveguides and circuits.

 

Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry
High Resolution OTDR

Characterization of Polarization-Maintaining Fiber Using High Sensitivity Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (HTML)
A paper by Luna Technologies staff that was published by the Journal of Lightwave Technology, November 2006. This paper is available to Journal subscribers, or on a pay-per-article basis.

Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (PDF)
Introduction to coherent optical frequency domain reflectometry (C-OFDR).

Polarization resolved measurement of Rayleigh backscatter in fiber-optic components (PDF)
Introduction to Optical Backscatter Reflectometry (OBR) with measurement examples.

 

Distributed Temperature and Strain Sensing

Temperature sensing in parallel networks (PDF)
Using optical backscatter reflectometry to measure distributed temperature changes in parallel optical networks.

Distributed Fiber-Optic Temperature Sensing using Rayleigh Backscatter (PDF)
An overview of distributed fiber-optic temperature sensing based on measuring the temperature-dependent spectral shift of the Rayleigh backscatter signal along an optical fiber.

Measurement of Localized Heating in Fiber Optic Components with Millimeter Spatial Resolution (PDF)
An overview of the technique for ultra-high resolution distributed fiber-optic temperature sensing based on measuring spectral shifts in the Rayleigh backscatter signature along an optical fiber. We demonstrate that a temperature measurement with ±0.1 °C resolution can be achieved with spatial resolution of 10 mm, and a resolution of ±1 °C can be achieved with a spatial resolution of 2 mm. We demonstrate how this technique can be applied to in-situ temperature monitoring for high power amplifier module applications.

Harnessing the Power of Fiber Fingerprints (HTML)
Modern, very high resolution reflectometry can be used to measure the Rayleigh backscatter from the fiber and thus map the imperfections that cause it.  Once this map, or fingerprint, is stored it can be used in some very interesting applications from distributed fiber optic sensing to network security and intrusion prevention.