Abstract
Weak signal detection for single-mode fiber-optic distributed temperature sensor (DTS) is a key technology to achieve better performance. A hybrid technique combining the incoherent optical frequency domain reflectometry (IOFDR) and the three-channel simultaneous radio-frequency (RF) lock-in amplifier (LIA) is presented to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the measured spontaneous Raman backscattered light. The field programmable gate array (FPGA) based RF-LIA is designed with a novel and simple structure. The measurement frequency range is achieved from 1 kHz to 100 MHz. Experimental results show that the backscattered light signal of picowatt level can be detected with high SNR. With a 2.5 km single-mode fiber, a 1064 nm laser source, and the measurement time of 500 s, this sensing system can reach a spatial resolution of 0.93 m and a temperature resolution of about 0.2°C.
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Chen, K., Zhou, X., Peng, W. et al. OFDR based distributed temperature sensor using the three-channel simultaneous radio-frequency lock-in technique. Photonic Sens 5, 217–223 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-015-0246-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-015-0246-z