Bidirectional optical communication and sensing WDM architecture using same fiber transmission band

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11463171-B2
Application number	US-202016885190-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2020
Priority date	Jun 28, 2018
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure describe systems, methods and structures providing bidirectional optical fiber communication and sensing using the same fiber transmission band and bidirectional WDM fiber sharing such that communications channels and optical fiber sensing channel(s) coexist on the same fiber. As a result, nonlinear interaction between communications channels and interrogating pulse(s) of sensing are much reduced or eliminated.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
directing optical data communication signals and a distributed optical fiber sensing probe pulse into an optical fiber link in directions opposite to each other;
receiving, from the optical fiber link, return optical fiber sensing signal(s) that propagate in the optical fiber link in the same direction as the optical data communications signals;
wherein the return optical fiber sensing signal(s) are indicative of one of a group consisting of distributed vibration sensing (DVS), distributed acoustic sensing (DTS) signals.

2. A method comprising:
directing, in a first direction, optical data communications signals into an optical fiber link;
directing, in a second direction, wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction, a distributed optical fiber sensing probe pulse into the optical fiber link; and
receiving, from the optical fiber link, return optical fiber sensing signal(s) wherein the return optical fiber sending signal(s) propagate in the optical fiber link in the same first direction as the optical data communications signals;
wherein the return optical fiber sensing signals are indicative of one of a group consisting of distributed vibration sensing (DVS), distributed acoustic sensing (DTS) signals.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the optical data communications signals are wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical data communications signals.

4. A method for providing distributed fiber sensing (DFS) on an existing optical telecommunications fiber link, said method comprising:
providing an optical telecommunications fiber link configured to convey optical data communications signals;
directing, in a first direction, the optical data communications signals into the optical fiber link;
providing a DFS interrogator configured to provide DFS interrogation pulses into the optical fiber link and receive DFS signals in return;
directing, in a second direction, wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction, a distributed optical fiber sensing probe pulse into the optical fiber link; and
receiving, from the optical fiber link, return optical fiber sensing signal(s) wherein the return optical fiber sending signal(s) propagate in the optical fiber link in the same first direction as the optical data communications signals;
wherein the return optical fiber sensing signals are indicative of one of a group consisting of distributed vibration sensing (DVS), distributed acoustic sensing (DTS) signals.

Assignees

• Nec Lab America Inc
• Nec Corp

Inventors

• Huang Yue-Kai
• Ip Ezra
• Ji Philip Nan
• Huang Ming-Fang

Classifications

• H04B10/071

  using a reflected signal, e.g. using optical time domain reflectometers [OTDR] · CPC title

• H04B10/2543 Primary

  due to fibre non-linearities, e.g. Kerr effect · CPC title

• H04B10/2589

  Bidirectional transmission · CPC title

• H04J14/02

  Wavelength-division multiplex systems · CPC title