Stimulated Brillouin scattering slow-light-based fiber-optic temperature sensor

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Fiber Optic Sensing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Temperature sensing is crucial in various industrial and scientific applications.
• Existing fiber optic sensing methods face limitations in range, sensitivity, or complexity.
• Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) offers unique light-matter interaction properties in optical fibers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel temperature sensing technique utilizing SBS-based slow light.
• To investigate the feasibility of SBS slow light for accurate temperature measurements in optical fibers.
• To evaluate the performance of the proposed method in terms of sensing range and resolution.

Main Methods:

• Experimental demonstration of temperature sensing using SBS-based slow light in single-mode fibers (SMF).
• Utilizing the temperature dependence of the Brillouin frequency shift to measure time delay of probe pulses.
• Employing both continuous-wave (cw) and pulsed pump lasers for different fiber lengths.

Main Results:

• Successful temperature measurement demonstrated in 100 m SMF using a cw pump with a sensing range of ~18°C.
• Temperature sensing achieved in a 2 m SMF using a pulsed pump with a sensing range of ~25°C.
• Achieved a temperature resolution better than 1.0°C with relatively high temperature sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The proposed SBS slow light method provides an easily implemented and effective approach for fiber optic temperature sensing.
• The technique shows potential for distributed sensing applications due to its high sensitivity and resolution.
• Further optimization could extend the sensing range and applicability to diverse environments.