Abstract
Optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) signals of step-index plastic optical fibers (POF’s) and graded-index POF’s were measured with a laser diode and an avalanche photodiode. When bent step-index and graded-index POF’s were used, the OTDR signal behavior differed. The OTDR signal of the bent graded-index POF’s had a step that corresponds to a curvature loss, but the step-index POF’s had a spike signal at a bend, which indicated the occurrence of backscattering. The peak intensity was proportional to the square of the curvature. The refractive-index variation of the bent step-index POF’s was measured, and the dependence of the peak intensity on the curvature was shown to agree with that predicted by the scattering from the refractive-index perturbation.
© 2001 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Tatsuya Sugita, Tomiya Abae, Kouki Hirano, and Yuzo Itoh
Appl. Opt. 44(15) 2933-2942 (2005)
Yung-Chuan Chen
Appl. Opt. 46(21) 4570-4578 (2007)
Li-Wen Chen, Hsun-Heng Tsai, Yi-Long Ke, and Yung-Chuan Chen
Appl. Opt. 47(27) 4907-4914 (2008)