Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor
This study investigates the influence of chromatic dispersion on the performance of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors, particularly under high-pump-power conditions, where nonlinear effects become significant. By incorporating dispersion terms into the coupled amplitude equation...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Photonics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/7/726 |
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| author | Qingwen Hou Mingjun Kuang Jindong Wang Jianping Guo Zhengjun Wei |
| author_facet | Qingwen Hou Mingjun Kuang Jindong Wang Jianping Guo Zhengjun Wei |
| author_sort | Qingwen Hou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the influence of chromatic dispersion on the performance of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors, particularly under high-pump-power conditions, where nonlinear effects become significant. By incorporating dispersion terms into the coupled amplitude equations of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), we theoretically analyzed the dispersion-induced pulse broadening effect and its impact on the Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS). Numerical simulations revealed that dispersion leads to a moderate broadening of pump pulses, resulting in slight changes to BGS characteristics, including increased peak power and reduced linewidth. To explore the interplay between dispersion and nonlinearity, we built a gain-based BOTDA experimental system and tested two types of fibers, namely standard single-mode fiber (SMF) with anomalous dispersion and dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF) with normal dispersion. Experimental results show that SMF is more prone to modulation instability (MI), which significantly degrades the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the BGS. In contrast, DCF effectively suppresses MI and provides a more stable Brillouin signal. Despite SMF exhibiting narrower BGS linewidths, DCF achieves a higher SNR, aligning with theoretical predictions. These findings highlight the importance of fiber dispersion properties in BOTDA design and suggest that using normally dispersive fibers like DCF can improve sensing performance in long-range, high-power applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5b10bcc9f3394b169b4aaf62040eb060 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2304-6732 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Photonics |
| spelling | doaj-art-5b10bcc9f3394b169b4aaf62040eb0602025-08-20T03:08:10ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322025-07-0112772610.3390/photonics12070726Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA SensorQingwen Hou0Mingjun Kuang1Jindong Wang2Jianping Guo3Zhengjun Wei4Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaThis study investigates the influence of chromatic dispersion on the performance of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors, particularly under high-pump-power conditions, where nonlinear effects become significant. By incorporating dispersion terms into the coupled amplitude equations of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), we theoretically analyzed the dispersion-induced pulse broadening effect and its impact on the Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS). Numerical simulations revealed that dispersion leads to a moderate broadening of pump pulses, resulting in slight changes to BGS characteristics, including increased peak power and reduced linewidth. To explore the interplay between dispersion and nonlinearity, we built a gain-based BOTDA experimental system and tested two types of fibers, namely standard single-mode fiber (SMF) with anomalous dispersion and dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF) with normal dispersion. Experimental results show that SMF is more prone to modulation instability (MI), which significantly degrades the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the BGS. In contrast, DCF effectively suppresses MI and provides a more stable Brillouin signal. Despite SMF exhibiting narrower BGS linewidths, DCF achieves a higher SNR, aligning with theoretical predictions. These findings highlight the importance of fiber dispersion properties in BOTDA design and suggest that using normally dispersive fibers like DCF can improve sensing performance in long-range, high-power applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/7/726Brillouin optical time domain analysischromatic dispersionsingle-mode fiberdispersion-compensating fiber |
| spellingShingle | Qingwen Hou Mingjun Kuang Jindong Wang Jianping Guo Zhengjun Wei Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor Photonics Brillouin optical time domain analysis chromatic dispersion single-mode fiber dispersion-compensating fiber |
| title | Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor |
| title_full | Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor |
| title_short | Effects of Chromatic Dispersion on BOTDA Sensor |
| title_sort | effects of chromatic dispersion on botda sensor |
| topic | Brillouin optical time domain analysis chromatic dispersion single-mode fiber dispersion-compensating fiber |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/12/7/726 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qingwenhou effectsofchromaticdispersiononbotdasensor AT mingjunkuang effectsofchromaticdispersiononbotdasensor AT jindongwang effectsofchromaticdispersiononbotdasensor AT jianpingguo effectsofchromaticdispersiononbotdasensor AT zhengjunwei effectsofchromaticdispersiononbotdasensor |