A novel integrated, compact OSA and ASE source for increased fober optic sensing capacity

Abstract

Typical fiber Bragg sensing systems, in the 1500nm to 1600nm wavelength range, use gratings spaced approximately 5nm apart. This large spacing is preferred since optical power illuminating the gratings is limited and monitoring systems often have low performance and hence have difficulty in differentiating between closely spaced gratings. In this paper, we present a high power ASE source in combination with an extremely high performance Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA), that allows sensing gratings to be closely spaced so many sensing elements can be monitored while maintaining very good wavelength and power detection. The integrated unit can be provided on a PCI card, in a box or as an OEM module to enable a robust, handheld unit. The OSA is built around proprietary Compliant Micro Electro Mechanical (CMEMs) tunable filters, primarily developed for very densely populated Telecommunications applications. The OSA is wavelength calibrated and can be matched to the ASE source to compensate for any spectral power characteristic of the source. This integrated OSA and ASE source will allow the sensing industry to increase grating array sizes while maintaining low cost.