Deep Integration Between Polarimetric Forward-Transmission Fiber-Optic Communication and Distributed Sensing Systems

Area of Science:

• Optical Communications
• Sensing Technology
• Network Infrastructure

Background:

• Fiber-optic networks are critical for interconnected cities, necessitating robust structural health monitoring.
• Existing monitoring methods often require dedicated hardware or impact communication performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel method for distributed vibration sensing in fiber-optic communication systems.
• To enable structural health monitoring without altering existing hardware or communication bandwidth.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a dual-polarization-state polarization shift keying (2-PolSK) modulation format.
• Implementing forward transmission-based distributed vibration sensing.
• Co-existing sensing with PolSK data transmission.

Main Results:

• Achieved a sensitivity of 0.4141 μV/με and a limit of detection of 563 pε/Hz^1/2@100 Hz.
• Demonstrated a sensing distance of 121 km without optical amplification.
• Maintained a 300 Mb/s transmission rate with a BER of 5.202 × 10^-12.

Conclusions:

• Distributed vibration sensing can be effectively integrated into 2-PolSK fiber-optic systems.
• The proposed method allows for simultaneous communication and structural health monitoring.
• This approach offers a cost-effective solution for enhancing network resilience.