Pulse width dependence of Brillouin frequency in single mode optical fibers

Abstract

Stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers can be used to measure strain or temperature in a distributed manner. Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA) is the most common sensor system based on the Brillouin scattering. This paper presents the experimental analysis of the characteristics of Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS) influenced by the width of launched pulse. Brillouin strain coefficient is also examined for the different pulse widths, which is important to apply a Brillouin scattering-based sensor to a structural health monitoring. Experimental results showed that not only the Brillouin linewidth and gain but also the Brillouin frequency were dependent on the pulse widths. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.