System and method to compensate for arbitrary optical fiber lead-ins in an optical frequency domain reflectometry system

A system for estimating a parameter, the system comprising:

• a light source in optical communication with an optical fiber, the optical fiber including at least one sensing location configured to reflect light;
• a modulator configured to modulate the optical signal via a modulation signal having a variable modulation frequency over a period of time;
• a detector configured to receive a reflected signal including light reflected from the at least one sensing location;
• and
• a processor configured to demodulate the reflected signal with a reference signal, the reference signal including a time delay based on a distance between the light source and the at least one sensing location.

A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for estimating a parameter by implementing a method comprising:

• generating an optical signal, the optical signal modulated via a modulation signal having a variable modulation frequency over a period of time;
• transmitting the modulated optical signal from a light source into an optical fiber, the optical fiber including at least one sensing location configured to reflect light;
• receiving a reflected signal including light reflected from the at least one sensing location;
• and
• demodulating the reflected signal with a reference signal, the reference signal including a time delay relative to the modulation signal based on a distance between the light source and the at least one sensing location.