Optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)
An optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) is an instrument used to measure attenuation in a fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cables are common in a telecommunications network. Light reflects within the cable to transmit data. If the light is not reflecting properly, data-transmissions may be adversely affected. An optical time domain reflectometer detects a point which is damaged, or measures an energy loss, such as a transmission loss or a connection loss in an optical fiber cable by outputting a light pulse from the OTDR to a measuring optical fiber cable through an optical waveguide directional coupler and by detecting a returned light pulse from the measuring optical fiber cable. OTDRs operate by sending a short pulse of laser light down an optical waveguide fiber and observing the small fraction of light that is scattered back towards the source. An OTDR comprises a laser diode which is used to introduce pulses of optical energy into an optical fiber at a proximal end of the fiber under test, and a photodiode which generates a current signal that depends on the power with which optical energy is emitted from the fiber at its proximal end in response to the input pulse. The OTDR measures the time that lapses until reflected light (backscattered light) arrives from the optical fiber, the level of the reflected light and the like. The losses in the optical fiber, the positions where the losses occur, the positions of far ends, and the like are thereby determined. The OTDR measurements provide an OTDR trace which helps identify the distance between irregularities, and their contribution to optical signal degradation.
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