• Optics and Precision Engineering
  • Vol. 31, Issue 2, 168 (2023)
Xu LIU1, Bo LIU1,*, and Yunjiang RAO1,2,*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Research Center for Optical Fiber Sensing, Institute of Intelligent Sensing, ZhejiangLab, Hangzhou 300, China
  • 2Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications (Education Ministry of China), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu611731, China
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    DOI: 10.37188/OPE.20233102.0168 Cite this Article
    Xu LIU, Bo LIU, Yunjiang RAO. Research progress of photon counting optical time domain reflectometry based on single photon detection[J]. Optics and Precision Engineering, 2023, 31(2): 168 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Distributed optical fiber sensors based on optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) perform characterization through spatially resolved measurements along a single continuous strand of optical fiber, which has major advantages on the technology and application costs compared with conventional point-type sensors. The conventional OTDR based on analog detection suffers performance limitations on the important parameters of spatial resolution and dynamic range of the system. In contrast, photon-counting OTDR by single photon detection can overcome these performance limitations through digital detection and recoding. This review focuses on the technologies employed and developments in photon-counting OTDR, aims to clarify the advantages and limitations of photon-counting OTDR, explores the future development trends, and promotes the further development of distributed optical fiber sensors based on OTDR.
    Δz=cτ2neff(1)

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    Pmin=NEP1/(Nτ)(2)

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    DR=5lgPback/Pmin=5lgPbackNτ/NEP(3)

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    NEPPC=hvη2pdc(4)

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    Xu LIU, Bo LIU, Yunjiang RAO. Research progress of photon counting optical time domain reflectometry based on single photon detection[J]. Optics and Precision Engineering, 2023, 31(2): 168
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