Slope-Assisted Brillouin Optical Correlation-Domain Reflectometry Using Polymer Optical Fibers With High Propagation Loss

We have recently developed slope-assisted Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry (SA-BOCDR) for higher speed distributed measurement of strain and temperature. However, no reports have been published yet on the use of high-loss fibers. Here, we implement SA-BOCDR using a high-loss polymer optical fiber (POF) for the first time. Due to the gradual reduction in the transmitted power along the POF, the measurement sensitivities are found to depend on sensing position. This unique effect is investigated experimentally, and then a correct POF-based distributed measurement is performed by compensating this effect.