Single-port optical path loss measuring device and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a single-port optical path loss measuring device, and discloses an optical path loss measuring method corresponding to the single-port optical path loss measuring device, and the single-port optical path loss measuring device utilizes the characteristic of unidirectional transmission of light in a circulator or a coupler. A single port is used to realize optical power sending and optical power receiving, and the optical fiber loss test requirement of an optical fiber loop with a reflector is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of optical fiber communication and mutual inductor, and in particular to a device and method for measuring optical path loss with a single port. Background Art

[0002] The traditional method for testing optical fiber loss is to place a light source and an optical power meter at each end of the optical fiber. The output optical power of the light source and the received optical power of the optical power meter are known, and the difference between the two is the optical path loss.

[0003] This method requires that both ends of the optical fiber have jumper connectors, which can be removed as needed and then connected to the corresponding instrument to complete the test. There is an all-fiber current transformer in the power system, which has only one connector. A reflector is installed at the other end of the optical fiber. It is necessary to transmit and receive light from the same connector to calculate the loss. To pull the optical fiber from the control room to the primary body of the outdoor part, it is necessary to go through a bridge, cable trench, and pipe. There is also a melting point of the optical fiber in the middle, which will affect the loss of the optical path. The optical path loss directly affects the performance of the entire sensor. Therefore, how to accurately measure the optical path loss is a close concern to ensure on-site construction and product quality. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention proposes a single-port optical path loss measurement device, which can use a single port to achieve optical power transmission and optical power reception, and solves the optical fiber loss test requirements of an optical fiber loop with a reflector.

[0005] The present invention also proposes a single-port optical path loss measurement method based on the working process of the above-mentioned device.

[0006] A single-port optical path loss measurement device according to a first aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0007] A circulator or coupler having at least three interfaces;

[0008] light source;

[0009] A polarization scrambler, one end of which is connected to the light source, and the other end of which is connected to the first interface of the circulator or the coupler, and is used to remove the polarization direction of the light generated by the light source;

[0010] An output light / input light interface, connected to the second interface of the circulator or the coupler, used to connect to the optical fiber under test and obtain the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test;

[0011] A photoelectric detector is connected to the third interface of the circulator or coupler, and the photoelectric detector is used to calculate the power of the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test. The single-port optical path loss measurement device according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: The present invention provides a device that uses a circulator or a coupler to use a single port to achieve the transmission and reception of optical power to solve the optical fiber loss test requirements of an optical fiber loop with a reflector.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the device further comprises:

[0013] Signal processing and driving unit, used to control the operation of light source and photoelectric detector;

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the device further comprises:

[0015] The display module is used to display the power obtained by the photoelectric detector and display the power change value as the light attenuation of the measured optical fiber.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the light source generates 1310 nm low-polarization light, and the circulator or coupler, the polarization scrambler and the photodetector all operate based on this wavelength.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the instrument further has internal losses, and the internal losses include: losses of a polarization scrambler, a circulator or a coupler, an optical fiber inside the instrument, and a melting point.

[0018] A single-port optical path loss measurement method according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the method uses the above-mentioned single-port optical path loss measurement device, including:

[0019] Connect the device to a standard optical fiber with known loss to obtain the internal loss of the device;

[0020] The output light with a certain optical power is emitted from the light source, and its polarization direction is eliminated after passing through the polarization scrambler to form natural light, and then it is transmitted to the output light / input light interface through the circulator or coupler;

[0021] The output light is transmitted through the optical fiber under test at the output optical interface, and then transmitted back through the reflector at the end of the optical fiber under test, and then enters the output light / input optical interface again to obtain the received light;

[0022] The received light enters the photodetector through a circulator or a coupler to obtain the optical power of the received light;

[0023] The optical attenuation of the optical fiber under test is obtained based on the difference between the optical power of the output light and the optical power of the received light and the loss within the device.

[0024] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a single-port optical path loss measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of the steps of a method for measuring optical path loss at a single port according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientations, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., and orientations or positional relationships indicated are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0030] In the description of the present invention, "several" means one or more, "more" means more than two, "greater than", "less than", "exceed" etc. are understood as not including the number itself, and "above", "below", "within" etc. are understood as including the number itself. If there is a description of "first" or "second", it is only used for the purpose of distinguishing the technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0031] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0032] The traditional method for testing optical fiber loss is to place a light source and an optical power meter at each end of the optical fiber, and then obtain the optical path loss by taking the difference between the optical power output by the light source and the optical power received by the optical power meter. However, the optical fiber of the all-fiber current transformer has only one connector, and light reception and transmission need to be realized at the same end.

[0033] Reference Figure 1 , an embodiment of the present application provides a single-port optical path loss measurement device, the device comprising:

[0034] A circulator or coupler having at least three interfaces;

[0035] light source;

[0036] A polarization scrambler, one end of which is connected to the light source, and the other end of which is connected to the first interface of the circulator or the coupler, and is used to remove the polarization direction of the light generated by the light source;

[0037] An output light / input light interface, connected to the second interface of the circulator or the coupler, used to connect to the optical fiber under test and obtain the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test;

[0038] A photoelectric detector is connected to the third interface of the circulator or the coupler, and the photoelectric detector is used to calculate the power of the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test.

[0039] Its working principle is as follows: the light source uses a 1310nm low-polarization light source, which eliminates its polarization direction after passing through a polarization scrambler to form natural light, and then passes through a ring to emit light. The interface is connected to the optical fiber under test, and the light is transmitted in the optical fiber under test. After passing through the reflector at the end of the optical fiber under test, the light is transmitted back in the opposite direction, enters the interface again, and enters the photodetector through a circulator or coupler to form a complete optical path transmission.

[0040] Furthermore, the loss of the polarization scrambler, circulator or coupler, and the optical fiber and melting point inside the instrument need to be calibrated before use, which can reduce the measurement error caused by the optical attenuation of the device itself.

[0041] After the measurement is completed, the output optical power of the light source, the optical power detected by the photodetector, and the internal loss value are known, and the overall value of the optical path loss caused by the light output from the interface and transmitted back and forth in the measured optical fiber can be known.

[0042] In summary, based on the working principle of the device in the first embodiment above, a single-port optical path loss measurement method can be obtained, such as Figure 2 As shown, including:

[0043] Step S100: Connect the device to a standard optical fiber with known loss to obtain the internal loss of the device.

[0044] Observe the values ​​of output optical power and input optical power. Output optical power - input optical power - standard optical fiber loss = internal loss of the device.

[0045] Step S200: an output light with a certain optical power is emitted from a light source, and its polarization direction is eliminated after passing through a polarization scrambler to form natural light, and then transmitted to the output light / input light interface through a circulator or a coupler.

[0046] Step S300, the output light is transmitted in the tested optical fiber through the output optical interface, and then transmitted back after passing through the reflector at the end of the tested optical fiber, and enters the output light / input optical interface again to obtain received light.

[0047] Step S400: The received light enters a photodetector through a circulator or a coupler to obtain the optical power of the received light.

[0048] Step S500: Obtain the optical attenuation of the optical fiber under test based on the difference between the optical power of the output light and the optical power of the received light and the loss within the device.

[0049] The calculation formula is as follows:

[0050] The measured optical fiber loss = output optical power - input optical power - internal loss of the device.

[0051] It should be noted that since the optical fiber under test is a system composed of single-mode fiber and polarization-maintaining fiber, when using the above-mentioned equipment or method to perform single-port measurement of optical path loss, all devices need to select products with a wavelength of 1310nm, or use products with the same wavelength.

[0052] The device embodiments described above are only illustrative, and the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0053] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps and systems in the disclosed method above may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware and appropriate combinations thereof. Some physical components or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or may be implemented as hardware, or may be implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or a non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or a temporary medium). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired information and may be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0054] The above is a specific description of the preferred implementation of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned implementation mode. Technical personnel familiar with the field can also make various equivalent deformations or substitutions without violating the spirit of the present application. These equivalent deformations or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A single-port optical path loss measurement device, characterized in that: include: A circulator or coupler having at least three interfaces; light source; A polarization scrambler, one end of which is connected to the light source, and the other end of which is connected to the first interface of the circulator or the coupler, and is used to remove the polarization direction of the light generated by the light source; An output light / input light interface, connected to the second interface of the circulator or coupler, used to connect to the optical fiber under test and obtain the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test; A photoelectric detector is connected to the third interface of the circulator or the coupler, and the photoelectric detector is used to calculate the power of the light transmitted from the optical fiber under test.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The device also includes: The signal processing and driving unit is used to control the operation of the light source and photoelectric detector.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The device also includes: The display module is used to display the power obtained by the photoelectric detector and to display the power change value as the light attenuation of the measured optical fiber.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The light source generates 1310 nm low-polarization light, and the circulator or coupler, the polarization scrambler and the photodetector all work based on this wavelength.

5. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The instrument also has internal losses, which include losses of a polarization scrambler, a circulator or a coupler, an optical fiber inside the instrument, and a melting point.

6. A single-port optical path loss measurement method, characterized in that: The method uses any one of the single-port optical path loss measurement devices in claims 1 to 5, including: Connect the device to a standard optical fiber with known loss to obtain the internal loss of the device; The output light with a certain optical power is emitted from the light source, and its polarization direction is eliminated after passing through the polarization scrambler to form natural light, and then it is transmitted to the output light / input light interface through the circulator or coupler; The output light is transmitted through the optical fiber under test at the output optical interface, and then transmitted back through the reflector at the end of the optical fiber under test, and then enters the output light / input optical interface again to obtain the received light; The received light enters the photodetector through a circulator or a coupler to obtain the optical power of the received light; The optical attenuation of the optical fiber under test is obtained based on the difference between the optical power of the output light and the optical power of the received light and the loss within the device.

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