Characterization of the minimum intrinsic optical time domain reflection signature from poly(methyl methacrylate)...

Optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) measurements are performed to characterize the minimum reflection signature from poly(methyl methacrylate) plastic-fiber splices. The dominant splice reflection sources that are due to inexact index matching and fiber core misalignment are eliminated. A clearly detectable intrinsic OTDR reflection signature is observed with all tested fibers. The measured reflectivities vary from -53 to -27 dB. The characteristics of this signature are mapped out versus experimental variables such as fiber-surface roughness, fiber-surface preparation technique, indexmatching-fluid refractive index, and wavelength.