Distributed detection of quadratic Kerr effect in silica fibers using chirped-pulse φoTDR

• Monitoring the presence of external electric fields over large distances and detecting losses along power transmission networks, is of extreme importance nowadays due to concerns with environment, efficiency, cost and safety. In this work, we evaluate a method to achieve distributed measurements of the quadratic electro-optic Kerr effect in silica fibers in a distributed way. For this purpose, we integrate a twin-hole fiber filled with BiSn alloy electrodes and monitor its electric-field induced refractive index (RI) change Δn by using a chirped-pulse phase-sensitive OTDR (CP-ΦOTDR). By exploiting its high sensitivity (RI changes of the order of 10-9), we demonstrate that the proposed system is able to detect the intrinsic quadratic electrooptic nonlinearity (the electric Kerr effect) in the fiber, an effect that is usually considered to be too weak to be exploited for practical applications. Additionally, we show that the CP-ΦOTDR is sufficiently sensitive to measure the electric Kerr effect with untreated standard telecommunication fibers under realistic fields.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Distributed sensing

Kerr effect

Optical sensors

optical time domain reflectometry

Rayleigh scattering

Binary alloys

Bismuth alloys

Chirp modulation

Electric fields

Electric losses

Electric power transmission networks

Optical fibers

Refractive index

Silica

Tin alloys

Distributed detection

Distributed measurements

Electric field induced

Electrooptic nonlinearities

External electric field

Telecommunication fibers

Optical Kerr effect

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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