A Study on Sensor Multiplicity in Optical Fiber Sensor Networks

We have developed a novel optical fiber sensor network system with hetero-core spliced fiber optic sensors. Our previous work demonstrated that the system can play a dual role as a gigabit-class communication network and a sensing system when a limited number of sensors are used. However, optical devices are generally expensive. Thus, in order to use the devices efficiently, it is required that the system allow more sensors to be inserted into a fiber line. In this paper, we propose an enhanced system that can improve sensor multiplicity. The system utilizes a new type of sensor module that generates optical loss only for a short time. We analyze the relationship between sensor multiplicity and communication quality when using such sensor modules, and present results of the performance of this enhanced system in simulated experiments.