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Enhanced Optical Fiber for Distributed Acoustic Sensing beyond the Limits of Rayleigh Backscattering
Paul S Westbrook1, Kenneth S Feder1, Tristan Kremp1
1OFS Labs, Somerset, NJ, USA.
Iscience
|May 27, 2020
Summary
Engineered optical fibers with significantly enhanced backscattering offer improved performance for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). These fibers maintain signal integrity at high temperatures, enabling advanced sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optical Engineering
- Photonics
Background:
- Standard optical fibers are limited by Rayleigh scattering for backscatter signal strength.
- Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) systems require robust backscatter signals for effective operation.
- High-temperature environments pose challenges for the stability and performance of optical fibers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer optical fibers with enhanced optical backscattering exceeding conventional limits.
- To evaluate the performance of these enhanced fibers in terms of attenuation, thermal stability, and nonlinearity.
- To demonstrate the application of these fibers in Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for improved performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of engineered fibers with controlled enhanced backscatter.
- Measurement of optical attenuation across a broad wavelength range (1,300-1,650 nm).
- Testing of scattering strength stability at elevated temperatures (>200°C) over extended periods (3 weeks).
- Assessment of signal distortion caused by Kerr nonlinearity.
- Implementation and testing of the enhanced fibers in a DAS system.
Main Results:
- Engineered fibers exhibit optical backscattering over one order of magnitude higher than Rayleigh scattering.
- Measured attenuation is below 0.5 dB/km, with compensated backscatter signal maintained over 1.5 km.
- Scattering strength remains stable above 200°C for over 3 weeks, with Kerr nonlinearity distortion within 10% of standard fibers.
- DAS measurements show a significant increase in acoustic signal-to-noise ratio using the enhanced fibers.
Conclusions:
- The developed engineered fibers provide a substantial enhancement in optical backscattering.
- These fibers demonstrate excellent thermal stability and low nonlinearity, suitable for demanding environments.
- The enhanced backscatter and signal integrity enable improved spatial resolution in DAS systems.
