Example embodiments add an optical amplifier to an multi-channel, continuously swept OFDR measurement system, adjust amplified swept laser output power between rising and falling laser sweeps, and/or utilize portions of a laser sweep in which OFDR measurements are not typically performed to enhance the integrity of the OFDR measurement system, improve the performance and quality of OFDR measurements, and perform additional measurements and tests.

Example embodiments add an optical amplifier to an multi-channel, continuously swept OFDR measurement system, adjust amplified swept laser output power between rising and falling laser sweeps, and/or utilize portions of a laser sweep in which OFDR measurements are not typically performed to enhance the integrity of the OFDR measurement system, improve the performance and quality of OFDR measurements, and perform additional measurements and tests.

Example embodiments include an optical interrogation system with a sensing fiber having a single core, the single core having multiple light propagating modes. Interferometric apparatus probes the single core multimode sensing fiber over a range of predetermined wavelengths and detects measurement interferometric data associated with the multiple light propagating modes of the single core for each predetermined wavelength in the range. Data processing circuitry processes the measurement interferometric data associated with the multiple light propagating modes of the single core to determine one or more shape-sensing parameters of the sensing fiber from which the shape of the fiber in three dimensions can be determined.

This application relates to a fibre optic cable (104, 300) suitable for use with a distributed fibre optic sensor apparatus (106). The fibre optic cable includes at least one optical fibre (301) and a force transformer (304) mechanically coupled to the at least one optical fibre. The cable may also include at least one cladding later (302) and/or a compliant material (303). The cable may be surrounded by a jacket layer (306). The force transformer (304) is configured to transform transverse forces due to dimension changes of the cable arising from a temperature variation of the cable into longitudinal forces to counteract the longitudinal component of said dimension change over a tuned temperature range. In this way optical path length changes due to a change of temperature can be reduced or eliminated providing a cable which is insensitive to temperature.

A composite optical fiber is provided for permitting sensing of multiple parameters. The optical fiber is for incorporation into a sensing system, the optical fiber comprising: a single mode optical fiber core, a multimode optical fiber core, and an optical fiber cladding layer surrounding the single mode optical fiber core and the multimode optical fiber core. The optical fiber provided preferably enables multiple sensing and/or measurements to take place at a single location and at a single time.

Example embodiments add an optical amplifier to a multi-channel, continuously swept OFDR measurement system, adjust amplified swept laser output power between rising and falling laser sweeps, and/or utilize portions of a laser sweep in which OFDR measurements are not typically performed to enhance the integrity of the OFDR measurement system, improve the performance and quality of OFDR measurements, and perform additional measurements and tests.

Disclosed is an optical cable for distributed sensing. The optical cable comprises a first metal tube with at least two optical fibers loosely arranged therein and a second metal tube with at least two tight buffered optical fibers tightly arranged within an inner surface of the second metal tube. A third metal tube having an inner surface collectively surrounds and operatively contacts the first metal tube and said second metal tube. At least one of the first metal tube and the second metal tube is fixed by means of an adhesive compound to the inner surface of the third metal tube.

The present invention relates to an optical shape sensing system, comprising an optical fiber sensor comprising an optical fiber having embedded therein a number of at least four fiber cores (1 to 6) arranged spaced apart from a longitudinal center axis (0) of the optical fiber, the fiber cores each having a resonance wavelength in response to light introduced into the fiber cores (1 to 6) in an unstrained state thereof. The system further comprises an optical interrogation unit (21) configured to interrogate the fiber cores (1 to 6) with light in a scan wavelength range including the resonance wavelengths of the fiber cores in an unstrained state of the fiber cores (1 to 6). The scan wavelength range is set such that a center wavelength of the scan wavelength range is decentered with respect to the resonance wavelength of at least one of the fiber cores (1 to 6).

A multi-core optical fiber includes a central core disposed at the center of a cladding; and outer cores helically wound around the central core. The following Formula (1) is satisfied: $ n e ⁢ ⁢ 1 × ( 1 fw - B ) < n e ⁢ ⁢ 2 ⁢ ave × ( 1 fw + A ) < n e ⁢ ⁢ 1 × ( 1 fw + B ) ⁢ ⁢ A = ( 1 Distributed pressure sensing 11125637 · 2021-09-21 · Optasense Holdings Limited · Alastair Godfrey This application relates to methods and apparatus for distributed fibre optic sensing that can provide an indication of the absolute value of pressure acting on a sensing portion of a fibre optic cable. A sensor apparatus (600) has a first fibre optic cable structure (102) comprising a first optical fibre (101) and an interrogator (103) configured to perform distributed acoustic sensing on the first optical fibre (101) to provide a measurement signal from at least one sensing portion of the first optical fibre. The first fibre optic cable structure (102) is configured such that a sensitivity of a sensing portion (603, 604) to an incident pressure stimulus (ΔP1, ΔP2) depends on the ambient pressure (AP1, AP2) at the location of the respective sensing portion. A processor (104) is configured to process the measurement signal in response to an incident pressure stimulus (ΔP1, ΔP2) based on a predetermined sensitivity profile (504, 701) to determine an indication of the ambient pressure at the respective sensing portion. $