Distributed Brillouin laser sensor
AssigneeThe Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsBrandon F. Redding, Joseph B. Murray
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Abstract
Brillouin fiber sensors can provide distributed measurements of parameters of interest over long distances in a fiber by measuring the Brillouin frequency shift as a function of position along the fiber. The Brillouin frequency shift may be determined, to within a small fraction of the Brillouin linewidth, by establishing a series of lasing modes that experience Brillouin amplification at discrete spatial locations in a test fiber. A linewidth narrowing and high intensity associated with the lasing transition enable precise measurements of the lasing frequency associated with each of the lasing modes. The Brillouin frequency may be determined based on the lasing frequency.
Claims16
A system, comprising:
- a lasing cavity comprising a fiber under test and a feedback fiber;
- and
- a pulse pump generator transmitting a pump beam through the lasing cavity thereby generating stimulated Brillouin scattering traveling in a direction opposite to a direction of the pump beam, the pump beam exciting a plurality of lasing modes in the lasing cavity, the pump beam being pulsed at a repetition rate matching a round-trip time in the lasing cavity so that the stimulated Brillouin scattering amplifies plurality of lasing modes at discrete locations in the fiber under test.
A method, comprising:
- providing a lasing cavity comprising a fiber under test and a feedback fiber;
- and
- transmitting a pump beam through the lasing cavity using a pulse pump generator thereby generating stimulated Brillouin scattering traveling in a direction opposite to a direction of the pump beam, the pump beam exciting a plurality of lasing modes in the lasing cavity, the pump beam being pulsed at a repetition rate matching a round-trip time in the lasing cavity so that the stimulated Brillouin scattering amplifies plurality of lasing modes at discrete locations in the fiber under test.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.