Multi-Core Fiber Core Deviation Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Evaluating the geometric structure of multi-core optical fibers, particularly the deviations in the center positions of multiple cores within a cladding, is challenging due to the absence of a core at the center, making it difficult to measure the relative relationship between the cladding and core centers.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber evaluation equipment and method that captures a cross-sectional image, approximates the cladding circumference as a circle, determines the cladding center, and calculates the deviation of core centers by rotating the image to minimize the difference between design and measured core positions, using image capture and computation circuits to achieve high accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional test methods for single-core fibers are used on multi-core fibers, then the relative relationship between the center of the cladding and the center of the core can be grasped for fibers with a core at the center, but the amount of deviations of other cores is difficult to measure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the multi-core fiber into individual core evaluation units, where each core's position is independently detected and evaluated against its design coordinates. This segmentation allows each core to be measured separately, enabling accurate deviation measurement for all cores including those not at the center.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital model (copy) of the multi-core fiber structure by detecting the actual positions of all cores and comparing them with the design coordinates. This copying approach allows virtual evaluation of core positions without physical measurement of each core individually, solving the measurement difficulty.
2Measurement precision
If conventional test methods are used on multi-core fibers without a central core, then it is difficult to grasp the relative relationship between the center of the cladding and the center of the core
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cladding center as a separate reference element from the core positions. By independently determining the cladding center coordinates and using them as a fixed reference frame, the system can measure all core positions relative to this extracted reference, even when no core exists at the center.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the cladding center coordinates as an intermediary reference frame that mediates between the physical cladding structure and the core positions. This intermediary coordinate system allows indirect measurement of core positions relative to the cladding center, solving the reference establishment problem.
3Measurement precision
If image capture and computation methods are used to evaluate multi-core fiber geometry, then high accuracy in measuring core positions can be achieved, but the complexity of the evaluation system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a universal image capture and computation system that can evaluate multiple cores simultaneously through automated coordinate detection and comparison. This multi-functional approach replaces the need for separate measurement devices for each core, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The computation system automatically detects core positions, compares them with design coordinates, and calculates deviations without manual intervention. This self-service capability reduces the operational complexity of the evaluation system while achieving high measurement precision through automated image processing.
Data Source
AI summary
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber evaluation equipment and an optical fiber evaluation method that evaluate the center of a cladding of an MCF and a deviation of the center of each core of the MCF from a design value with ease and high accuracy.The optical fiber evaluation equipment according to the present invention approximates the outside diameter of a cladding by a circle, based on a cross-sectional image of an MCF, and determines the center of the circle as the center of the cladding. In addition, the optical fiber evaluation equipment according to the present invention obtains the center coordinates of cores with an origin at the center of the circle, rotates the cross-sectional image so as to minimize a difference between the center coordinates and design coordinates of each core, and derives the minimum value thereof as the amount of deviation of the center of each core.