A new approach for identifying fiber fault and detecting failure location

Abstract

Optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) is used to measure fiber attenuation and loss as well as locate connection, splice, crack, bend, and breakdown along an optical fiber. This paper proposed and demonstrated a MATLAB-based graphical user interface (GUI) named as centralized failure detection system (CFDS) that able to measure the optical signal level, attenuation, loss and also locate the break point in faulty fiber for multi fibers in a time. CFDS is interfaced with the OTDR to accumulate every measurement result to be displayed on a single computer screen for further analysis. CFDS will identify and present the parameters of optical fiber such as the fiber's status either in working or non-working condition (occur breakdown or failure in a faulty fiber), magnitude of decreasing as well as the location, failure location and other details as shown in the OTDR's screen.