Systems and methods for detecting a location of the optical elements causing multipath interference in an optical link

A system for detecting a location of reflection in an optical link comprising:

• a non-transitory memory element having instructions thereon;
• one or more processors coupled to the non-transitory memory element to execute the instructions to cause the one or more processor to:
• receive an optical signal;
• receive a plurality of first type of delayed optical signals corresponding to the optical signal, the plurality of first type of delayed optical signals due to reflections of the optical signal between a plurality of optical elements present in the optical link;
• determine a first type of time delays associated with each of the plurality of first type of delayed optical signals;
• receive a plurality of second type of delayed optical signals corresponding to the optical signal, the plurality of second type of delayed optical signals due to reflections of the optical signal between an adjustable reflector (AR) and the plurality of optical elements, the AR being located at a predetermined location in the optical link;
• determine a second type of time delays associated with the each of plurality of second type of delayed optical signals;
• compute relative delays from the second type of time delays, computing the relative delays comprising determining:
• τ′OEi-OEj=τAR-OEi−τAR-OEj,
• where OE is the optical element, AR is the adjustable reflector, and τ is the time of the delayed optical signals;
• compare the relative delays with the first type of time delays and identify a given relative delay that is closer to a given first type of time delay;
• and
• determine a location of a given optical element contributing to the reflections based on the given relative delay and the location of the AR.