Abstract

Polarization dependence of Rayleigh interference signal in a phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (∅-OTDR) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The correspondence between the intensity of the Rayleigh interference signal and the state of polarization (SOP) of the probe pulse in a ∅-OTDR is theoretically explained considering inner interference of coherent Rayleigh light scattered within probe pulse duration, and is experimentally verified by analyzing the similarity of Rayleigh trace waveforms in the cases of identical and different SOPs of probe pulses. The polarization dependence of the Rayleigh interference signal indicates the potential to prevent the intensity of interference Rayleigh signal from fading to zero.

© 2017 Optical Society of America