RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STUDY ON OPTICAL FIBER MONITORING COMPUTED SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT

Fiber optics, though used meticulously in the modern world, is a quite simple and old technology. The principle of light guidance by refraction phenomenon was first established by Colladon and Babinet in Paris in the early 1840s, as a base for fiber optics. Fiber optics is mainly used for transmitting radiation from one component to another with help of fibers. Optical fibers are fine strands of glass or plastic, single or bunch of which is used for transmission of radiation from one compartment to another to several hundreds of feet, not only for observation purpose, but also for illumination of objects. The essential feature for transmission of light in an optical fiber which occurs by total internal reflection is that the transmitting fiber must be coated with the material that has refractive index smaller (Cladding material) than that of fiber. The emission of ultra violet, visible or infrared radiations by the fiber depends on the choice of construction material.At NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories, we are engaged in research and development (R&D) of optical fiber and cable technologies that contribute to drastically reducing network costs. This article introduces the latest R&D in maintenance and operation technologies for effective maintenance and management of a massive number of optical facilities. It also reviews next-generation optical fiber technologies to handle the explosive future growth of data traffic. Recent progress on optical fiber monitoring in the optical communication systems is reviewed along with current optical fiber monitoring and diagnosing problems in deployed access, trunk and submarine communication systems.

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