Optical monitoring device and method for measuring light intensity

Abstract

The purpose of the present disclosure is to make it possible to simultaneously measure the light intensities of a plurality of optical fibers which are arranged in a tape-like shape.　The present disclosure is an optical monitoring device characterized by comprising: a bending section in which bends are made in the tape cores of the plurality of optical fibers which are arranged in a line to form a tape-like shape; and a light-receiving part that receives a portion of leakage light leaking from the bends in the tape cores, the light-receiving part having a light-receiving surface on which light-receiving elements, the number of which is greater than the number of optical fibers, are two-dimensionally arranged.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to an optical monitoring device, and more particularly to an optical monitoring device used in optical transmission equipment and the like for detecting the intensity of light and feeding the detection results back to other components. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the increase in internet traffic, there has been a strong demand for increased communication capacity in communication systems. To achieve this, optical fiber communication systems are used in access networks between communication centers and user homes, and in core networks connecting communication centers to each other. In optical fiber communication, detection of the intensity of light propagating through the optical fiber is often used to control communication and verify the integrity of the equipment. For example, in access networks, test light is propagated through the optical fiber, and the loss, integrity, core wires, and connections of the optical fiber are checked by detecting the light intensity.

[0003] For optical intensity monitoring in access networks, techniques such as those described in Patent Document 1 are used. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for confirming the connectivity of optical fibers by bending them to allow propagating light to leak out. This allows for confirmation of optical fiber connectivity and measurement of the intensity of optical signals within optical fibers in access networks.

[0004] However, conventional optical monitoring devices with the same configuration still have the following challenges. First, as optical communication becomes widespread and the number of optical fibers in optical equipment / optical cables increases, tape-type optical fibers, in which multiple optical fibers are arranged in a single line in a tape-like manner, are widely used. However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 can only measure one optical fiber at a time. Furthermore, in order to measure multiple optical fibers that are in simultaneous use, it is necessary to separate them into single cores. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Special fairness 07-078567 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] This disclosure is made in view of the above points and aims to enable the simultaneous measurement of the optical intensity of multiple optical fibers arranged in a tape-like manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The optical monitoring device disclosed herein is In an optical monitoring device that detects the intensity of light propagating through multiple optical fibers, A bending unit for providing a bend in a tape core in which the plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a single row in a tape shape, A light receiving unit that receives a portion of the communication light leaking from the bent portion of the tape core wire, Equipped with, The light-receiving surface of the light-receiving unit is characterized in that more light-receiving elements than the number of optical fibers are arranged in a two-dimensional array.

[0008] The optical intensity measurement method disclosed herein is: A method for measuring the intensity of light propagating through multiple optical fibers simultaneously using an optical monitoring device according to the present disclosure, By measuring the light reception intensity at each photodetector when light is emitted from each of the multiple optical fibers, the correspondence between the multiple optical fibers and each photodetector is obtained in advance. While the multiple optical fibers are propagating the light whose intensity is to be measured, the light intensity of each light-receiving element received by the light-receiving unit is detected. Based on the above correspondence, each optical fiber (i) The light intensity of the light propagating before passing through the bend, (ii) The light intensity of the light propagating after passing through the bend, Measure at least one of the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, since light reception is performed using a light receiving unit in which light receiving elements more numerous than the number of optical fibers are two-dimensionally arranged on a light receiving surface, it is possible to realize an optical monitor device capable of simultaneously measuring the light intensities of a plurality of optical fibers arranged in a tape shape.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] [Figure 1] A configuration example of the optical monitor device of the present embodiment is shown. [Figure 2] An example of an image due to leakage light from each optical fiber received on the light receiving surface is shown. [Figure 3] An example of a measurement system when measuring the correspondence relationship between each optical fiber and the light receiving element is shown. [Figure 4] An example of a measurement system when measuring the light intensity of leakage light of communication light propagating through a tape core wire is shown. [Figure 5] An example of a measurement system when measuring the correspondence relationship between each optical fiber and the light receiving element is shown.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown below. These examples of implementation are merely illustrative, and the present disclosure can be implemented in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. In this specification and the drawings, components having the same reference numerals indicate the same components.

[0012] (First Embodiment Example) The optical monitor device of the present embodiment has a configuration illustrated in FIG. 1. The optical monitor device of the present embodiment is an optical monitor device that detects the intensity of light propagating through a plurality of optical fibers 11. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the plurality of optical fibers 11 are a tape core wire 12 in which M = 4 optical fibers 11 are arranged in a single row in a tape shape. Hereinafter, when distinguishing the four optical fibers 11, they are denoted as F1 to F4.

[0013] The optical monitor device of this embodiment is A bending portion 91 for providing a bent portion 13 to the tape core wire 12, A light receiving unit 92 that receives leaked light 14 leaking from the bent portion 13 of the tape core wire 12, A calculation processing unit 93 calculates the light intensity of the light propagating through the optical fiber 11 before or after passing through the bending section 13 using the light intensity of the leaked light 14 received by the light receiving unit 92, It holds.

[0014] The bending section 91 bends the optical fiber 11 at a predetermined bending radius R. The bending radius R is an arbitrary angle that allows leaked light 14 to leak from the optical fiber 11.

[0015] Figure 2 shows, as an example, the image of each optical fiber F1 to F4 on the light-receiving surface 92S due to leaked light, and the image of all optical fibers 11 due to leaked light 14-14 to 14-4, when the ribbon fiber 12 has 4 fibers. In this figure, an example is shown in which N=20 photodetectors M1 to M20 are arranged in a 5x4 two-dimensional array on the light-receiving surface 92S. Thus, the light-receiving unit 92 of this disclosure has more photodetectors than the number of optical fibers 11 arranged in a two-dimensional array on the light-receiving surface 92S. As shown in Figure 2, the image 15 of all optical fibers 11 due to leaked light 14-1 to 14-4 is represented by the sum of the leaked light 14-1 to 14-4 of each optical fiber F1 to F4.

[0016] Therefore, in this disclosure, the light intensity of the leaked light at each photodetector M1 to MN when the light intensity after passing through the bend 13 from the optical fiber F1 reaches a predetermined reference intensity Pr is measured in advance and recorded in the calculation processing unit 93. The measurement system for this recording is shown in Figure 3.

[0017] Specifically, the tape core wire 12 is installed in the bending imparting section 91, the optical fiber F1 is connected to the light source 81 and the light intensity measuring device 83, light is made incident from the light source 81 to the optical fiber F1, and the leakage light 14-1 is received by the light receiving section 92. Based on the light intensity measured by the light intensity measuring device 83, the light intensity incident on the optical fiber F1 is adjusted using the variable attenuator 82 so that the light intensity after passing through the bending section 13 becomes the reference intensity Pr. Thereby, the arithmetic processing unit 93 obtains the correspondence relationship Or 11 ~Or 1N between the optical fiber F1 and the light receiving elements M1 to MN. Similarly for the optical fibers F2 to FM, the arithmetic processing unit 93 records the correspondence relationship Or 21 ~Or MN thereof.

[0018] The correspondence relationship between the optical fibers F1 to FM and the light receiving elements M1 to MN can be represented as follows.

Number

[0019] Since the light intensity of the leakage light 14 from the tape core wire 12 does not vary much depending on the type of the tape core wire 12, once the correspondence relationships Or 11 ~Or 1N are obtained, they can be referred to in field measurements. Note that the correspondence relationships Or 11 ~Or 1N corresponding to the type of the tape core wire 12 are obtained, and the correspondence relationships Or 11 ~Or 1N may be made selectable for each type of the tape core wire 12.

[0020] Next, the measurement system at the time of actual measurement is shown in FIG. 4. The light intensities after passing through the bending sections 13 of the lights propagating through the optical fibers F1 to FM are k1 to k of the reference intensity Pr respectively MAssuming it is doubled, the light intensity of the leaked light detected by each photodetector M1~MN is O1~O N Since this is the sum of the light incident from each optical fiber F1 to FM, it can be expressed as shown in Equation 2.

number

[0021] Therefore, the light intensity after passing through the bending section 13 of the light propagating through each optical fiber F1 to FM can be calculated using Equation 3.

number

[0022] When the light intensity measured by the intensity measuring instrument 83 is the reference intensity Pr, the tape core wire 12 is removed from the bending attachment part 91 as shown in Figure 5 and Or 11 ~Or 1N If this is recorded, the light intensity before passing through the bent section 13 of the optical fiber F1 can be measured. Similarly, for optical fibers F2 to FM, the correspondence between optical fibers F2 to FM before passing through the bent section 13 and the photodetectors M1 to MN can be measured. 21 ~Or MN This is recorded. This allows us to obtain a correspondence equivalent to Equation 1 when measuring the light intensity before passing through the bend 13. By using this correspondence in Equation 3, we can calculate the light intensity of the propagating light before passing through the bend 13.

[0023] The optical intensity measurement method disclosed herein is: The correspondence represented by Equation 1 is obtained in advance, With the optical fiber 11 propagating the light to be measured in intensity, the light intensity is detected using the light receiving unit 92 with the use of Equation 3. Based on the aforementioned correspondence, for each optical fiber F1 to FM (i) The light intensity of the light propagating before passing through the bent section 13, (ii) The light intensity of the light propagating after passing through the bent section 13, Measure at least one of the following.

[0024] In this embodiment, the correspondence between the optical fiber 11 and each photodetector M1 to MN is acquired in advance. Therefore, based on the aforementioned correspondence, the intensity of any light propagating through the optical fiber 11, such as communication light and test light, can be measured all at once.

[0025] The optical monitoring device disclosed herein can be used to monitor any light transmitted in an optical transmission system. For example, the optical monitoring device disclosed herein can be mounted on any device used in an optical transmission system, such as a transmitter, receiver, or relay device, and the measurement results from the light receiving unit 92 can be used for feedback or feedforward to any component inside or outside the device. Furthermore, the optical monitoring device disclosed herein can be inserted in the middle of a transmission line in an optical transmission system to measure the intensity and propagation loss of the optical signal in the transmission line.

[0026] In this embodiment, the optical monitoring device is shown as having four optical fibers 11, but the number of optical fibers 11 M can be any number of two or more. When performing actual measurements, the number of optical fibers 11 M is set, and the tape core wires 12 are placed at positions determined according to the number of fibers M in the bending section 91. This makes it possible to measure the optical intensity of any number of tape core wires 12.

[0027] Furthermore, although this embodiment shows an example where the propagation direction of the light propagating through the optical fiber 11 is unidirectional, the propagation direction of the light propagating through the optical fiber 11 may be bidirectional. In this case, light receiving units 92 for receiving leaked light 14 are arranged on both sides of the bent portion 13, and the correspondence relationship represented by Equation 1 is obtained in advance for each direction.

[0028] The shape of the bending portion 91 is arbitrary, but for example, it may be formed over an angle θ of less than 180 degrees with a bending radius R as shown in Figure 1, and both ends may be flat surfaces. The configuration for laying the tape core wire 12 on the bending portion 91 is arbitrary, and a member that presses the tape core wire 12 on the bending portion 91 may be used, or the tape core wire 12 may be wrapped around the bending portion 91.

[0029] Furthermore, although the various components of the optical monitor device have been described in this embodiment, the bending unit 91, the light receiving unit 92, and the arithmetic processing unit 93 of the optical monitor device may be housed in a single housing. The arithmetic processing unit 93 may be the one provided in the light receiving unit 92.

[0030] The arithmetic processing unit 93 of this disclosure can also be implemented by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network. The program of this disclosure is a program for implementing a computer as the arithmetic processing unit 93, and is a program for causing the computer to execute each step of the method executed by the arithmetic processing unit 93. [Industrial applicability]

[0031] This disclosure can be applied to the information and communications industry. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 11: Fiber optic 12: Tape conductor 13: Bending section 14, 14-1~14-4: Leaked light 81:Light source 82: Variable Attenuator 83: Light intensity meter 91: Bending section 92: Light receiving part 92S: Light receiving surface 93: Processing Unit

Claims

1. In an optical monitoring device that detects the intensity of light propagating through multiple optical fibers, A bending unit for providing a bend in a tape core in which the plurality of optical fibers are arranged in a single row in a tape shape, A light receiving unit that receives a portion of the leaked light leaking from the bent portion of the tape core wire, A calculation processing unit that performs calculation processing on the light intensity of the leaked light received by the light receiving unit, Equipped with, The light-receiving unit has more light-receiving elements arranged in two dimensions than the number of optical fibers on the light-receiving surface. The aforementioned arithmetic processing unit is The system maintains a matrix that shows the correspondence between the light intensity of the light propagating through each of the multiple optical fibers, measured in advance for each of the multiple optical fibers, before or after passing through the bending section, and the light intensity received by each light-receiving element of the light-receiving section. Using the inverse matrix of the aforementioned matrix, the light intensity of the light propagating through the multiple optical fibers is measured simultaneously. An optical monitoring device characterized by the following features.

2. A method for measuring the intensity of light propagating through multiple optical fibers simultaneously using the optical monitor device described in claim 1, wherein By measuring the light intensity of the light propagating from each of the multiple optical fibers before or after passing through the bend, and the light intensity received by each of the photodetectors, the matrix is ​​recorded in the arithmetic processing unit. While the multiple optical fibers are propagating the light whose intensity is to be measured, the light intensity of each light-receiving element received by the light-receiving unit is detected. The processing unit calculates the light intensity of the light propagating through the plurality of optical fibers using the inverse matrix of the matrix. Method for measuring light intensity.

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