Distributed Temperature and Curvature Sensing Based on Raman Scattering in Few-Mode Fiber

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a distributed temperature and curvature sensing method based on spontaneous Raman backscattered lights in a few-mode optical fiber. A loop structure is used to demodulate the distributed temperature information using the Raman anti-Stokes (AS) scattering lights. And the fiber curvature is estimated by the loss of Raman Stokes (S) light. This system can measure temperature and curvature at the same position of the fiber simultaneously. The experimental results show that the temperature uncertainty and spatial resolution can reach up to 0.24 °C and 1.8 m on 6 km sensing fiber. Besides, the maximum measurement error is 0.11 cm within the curvature measurement range of 0.5–3 cm.