In some examples, an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR)-based high reflective event measurement system may include an OTDR, and an N by M optical switch optically connected to the OTDR or disposed within the OTDR. The optical switch may include a variable attenuator mode and at least one optical fiber connected to at least one output port of the optical switch. At least one fiber optic reflector may be disposed at an end of the at least one optical fiber. A variable optical attenuator may reduce, for the at least one optical fiber including the at least one fiber optic reflector, an amplitude of reflective peaks.

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining distinct timing offsets between an input port and output ports of a multiport optical device. An optical signal is injected at an input port of the device to obtain output signals at the output ports, which are injected into downstream fibers. An optical multipath return signal is received via the input port of the device, including a combination of measured events including reflections, backscatter, or both. A number of similar events expected in the number of downstream optical fibers is calculated to obtain an expected multipath signature based on configuration data. Results of the optical multipath return signal are then compared to the expected multipath signature to obtain comparison results. One of the measured events is distinguished from the others based on the first comparison results and the distinct timing offsets. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Raman amplifier systems and methods with an integrated Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) for integrated testing functionality include an amplifier system, an OTDR and telemetry subsystem, and a method of operation. The OTDR and telemetry subsystem is configured to operate in an OTDR mode when coupled to a line in port and to operate in a telemetry mode when coupled to a line out port. The OTDR and telemetry subsystem enables on-demand fiber testing while also operating as a telemetry channel that is both a redundant optical service channel (OSC) and provides a mechanism to monitor Raman gain over time. The OTDR and telemetry subsystem minimizes cost and space by sharing major optical and electrical components between the integrated OTDR and other functions on the Raman amplifier.

There is provided a system and a test instrument for identifying or verifying the fiber arrangement and/or the cable type of multi-fiber array cables (such as MPO cables) which employs a light source and a polarity detector at the near end of the multi-fiber array cable under test, and a loopback device at the far end. The polarity detector comprises light presence detectors used to detect which one of the optical fibers of the multi-fiber array cable returns light looped back at the far end and thereby determine the fiber arrangement and/or the cable type of the multi-fiber array cable.

The present invention describes a method, system and device for supervising a set of optical fibers of an Optical Network (detecting and locating the failures in deployed optical fibers) which solve some of the problems found in prior art techniques The embodiments of the present invention suggest an innovative approach, which allows to accurately and unambiguously detect and locate failures even in complex point to multipoint optical fiber networks.

Systems and methods for characterizing an optical fiber performed in part by an optical node (12) in an optical line system (10) include performing one or more measurements to characterize the optical fiber (16, 18) with one or more components (50, 52) at the optical node (12), wherein the one or more components (50, 52) perform functions during operation of the optical node (12) and are reconfigured to perform the one or measurements independent of the functions; and configuring the optical node (12) for communication over the optical fiber (16, 18) based on the one or more measurements. The one or more components can include any of an Optical Service Channel (OSC), an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR), and an optical amplifier. The configuring can include setting a launch power into the optical fiber based on the one or more measurements.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical pulse test apparatus that can test an optical fiber cable at once in a short period of time. The optical pulse test apparatus according to the present invention includes: an optical pulse signal generation unit 11 that emits an optical pulse with a width that is n times as large as a pulse width T corresponding to desired spatial resolution; a light reception unit 12 that receives reflected light and back-scattered light from n FUTs; an optical path control unit 13 that switches paths connected to the n FUTs are connected at an interval T, inject the optical pulse, as a test optical pulse having the pulse width T, sequentially into the paths, then switches the paths at an interval ts that is shorter than the time period T, and emit the reflected light and the back-scattered light from the n FUTs sequentially onto the light reception unit 12 at an interval n×ts; and an arithmetic processing unit 14 that divides the electrical signal output from the light reception unit 12, with an interval equal to the interval ts at which switching the paths is performed, into discrete signals respectively corresponding to the FUTs, and calculates the reflectance distributions of the reflected light and the back-scattered light of the respective FUTs.

In some examples, fiber optic virtual sensing may include generating, by a virtual sensor generator that is operatively connected to a device under test (DUT), at least one virtual sensor along the DUT. A DUT interrogator may be operatively connected to the DUT to transmit a stimulus optical signal into the DUT. The DUT interrogator may analyze reflected light resulting from the transmitted stimulus optical signal. The DUT interrogator may determine, based on the analysis of the reflected light, an attribute of the DUT sensed by the at least one virtual sensor.

In some examples, a tunable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) may include a fiber optic link analyzer, executed by at least one hardware processor, to determine, based on a user input, for a fiber optic link of a plurality of fiber optic finks of a fiber optic cable, whether the fiber optic fink is active or not active. The DWDM OTDR may specify, based on a determination that the fiber optic fink is active, a test wavelength that is different from a data transmission wavelength of data transmitted by the fiber optic fink. A DWDM multiplexer may be collocated with the DWDM OTDR to selectively connect, based on the specified test wavelength, the DWDM OTDR to the fiber optic fink of the plurality of fiber optic links for testing of the fiber optic link.

In some examples, a tunable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) may include a fiber optic link analyzer, executed by at least one hardware processor, to determine, based on a user input, for a fiber optic link of a plurality of fiber optic finks of a fiber optic cable, whether the fiber optic fink is active or not active. The DWDM OTDR may specify, based on a determination that the fiber optic fink is active, a test wavelength that is different from a data transmission wavelength of data transmitted by the fiber optic fink. A DWDM multiplexer may be collocated with the DWDM OTDR to selectively connect, based on the specified test wavelength, the DWDM OTDR to the fiber optic fink of the plurality of fiber optic links for testing of the fiber optic link.