Optical Time-Domain Reflectometers (OTDRs)

The Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer enables us to look at a fibre link from

inside the fibre. In reality it is just a radar system for looking at fibre. High intensity
pulses are sent into the fibre from a specialised laser and when the pulse returns
its strength is displayed on an oscilloscope screen in the form of a trace. A
schematic of such a display is shown in Figure 273. Important considerations are
as follows:
Reflections from within the Fibre
In the trace you see reflections coming from all along the fibre itself. This is
the result of Rayleigh scattering. Rayleigh scattering was mentioned in the
chapter on optical fibre as the major limiting factor in fibre attenuation. This
scattering occurs backwards towards the transmitter and we can receive it
and display the result.
Faults and Joints etc.
Every time there is a discontinuity or imperfection in the fibre the effect can
be seen in the trace. Such events can be the presence of a connector or a
splice or some more serious imperfection such as a crimp in the cable due
to poor installation.
In the schematic above we can see the reflections from the beginning and
end of the fibre as well some imperfections in between.
Noise Floor
At the end of the fibre you see a characteristic large (4%) reflection
followed by the signal dropping to the noise floor.
Measurable Parameters
From an OTDR you can quickly determine the following characteristics of
the fibre link under test:
. The length of the fibre
This is not as precise as it sounds. What you can calculate is the
length of the fibre itself. Most long distance cables employ “loose tube”
construction and the fibre length is between 5% and 10% longer than
the cable itself.
Chapter 7. Optical Communication Systems 343
. The attenuation in dB of the whole fibre link and the attenuation of
separate sections of fibre (if any).
. The attenuation characteristics of the basic fibre itself.
. The locations of connectors, joints and faults in the cable
These locations are measured from the beginning of the fibre and can
be as accurate as a few metres.
Usually you can't see the fibre close to the instrument. A “dead zone”
extends from the connector at the instrument itself for about 20 metres into
the fibre. So if the trace in the figure above was real we would need to
have a piece of fibre about 20 metres long connecting from the OTDR to
the end of the fibre under test. Often you don't have this luxury in the field.
In which case many OTDRs come equipped with a red laser source which
you can use to illuminate the fibre. When you look at a fibre illuminated in
this way (from the side) bad joints and fibre faults will scatter the red light
and you can see it. But beware YOU MUST NOT LOOK AT THE SOURCE
OR AT THE END OF THE FIBRE DIRECTLY. This can damage your
eyes. Before using a feature like this read the manufacturer's instructions
carefully.
Advantages
The major advantage of the OTDR is that tests can be done from one end
of the link and you don't need access to the other end. This means you
don't need two people to do the test and you save the problem of
coordinating between people. Also the testing is much quicker. So even
simple tests which could be performed with a basic optical source at one
end of the link and a power meter at the other are often performed with an
OTDR.
Characteristics
OTDRs today are extremely sophisticated devices and come with many
options. They can be large fixed laboratory instruments or small portable
ones about the size of a laptop computer. Different models are available
for multimode and single-mode fibres. Of course different models have
different levels of sensitivity (and price). There is always a range of options
for the user to control such as wavelength used for the test, timescales,
pulse duration etc.
Many modern OTDRs come with additional functions such as optical power
meter or laser source so that a good OTDR often has all of the function
needed by a technician in the field. In addition many OTDRs offer
computer output so that you can collect OTDR data in the form of digital
readings and analyse it later on a computer.
344 Understanding Optical Communications
circulator
pulse
generator laser
to fibre
under test
detector
(APD)
boxcar averager
oscilloscope
synch
synch
received signal
(electronic)
Figure 274. OTDR Operational Logic
The principle of operation of a typical OTDR is shown in Figure 274. In the figure
a circulator has been used to enable transmission and reception of the pulse from
the single strand of fibre under test. Other means of signal splitting/combining are
used but circulators offer the least attenuation.
As might be expected the big problem with an OTDR is that the returning signal is
very low level especially on long distance fibre sections. We can't use signal
pulses of too high a power for many reasons and so pulses of 10-20 mW are
typically sent. The problem of low return power is addressed in two ways:
1. A very sensitive APD detector is used. As noted elsewhere in this book
detectors double in sensitivity every time you halve the digital bit rate. Thus an
APD becomes very sensitive indeed at the very low pulse rates used. The
penalty for using APDs is additional noise but this is mitigated by the averaging
process.
2. A “boxcar averager” circuit is used to average many thousands of returning
pulses. The averaging process removes a large amount of noise. (Most of the
noise comes from the APD and its associated circuitry.) In some (very
sensitive, long distance) OTDRs the averaging time can be of the order of
several minutes! The averager provides logarithmic scaling of its output so that
the vertical scale on the display can be displayed in dBm.
The pulse rates used are quite slow! Since the optical signal propagates at
approximately 5 microseconds per kilometer we have to allow 10 microseconds per
kilometer of fibre length. So for 20 km of fibre we need to wait at least 200
microseconds between pulses and so a pulse rate of 5000 pulses per second
would be the maximum possible.