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Otdr
Otdr
Theory of Operation
OTDR
Pulse
OTDR Data
Link Range
Distance
Link Certification What is measured? OLTS (Tier 1) and OTDR (Tier 2) tests Why do I need both an OLTS and OTDR? OTDR Theory Backscatter vs. (Fresnel) reflection Block diagram Converting time into distance Effect of pulse width OTDR Setup: Key parameters Analyzing an OTDR Trace Event insertion loss and reflection Link (end-to-end) insertion loss Need for launch and receive cables
Outline
Input connection
Patch cord
POUT = - 23 dBm
Example:
PIN = - 20 dBm PREFL = - 40 dBm
Tier 1 -- Required Link Insertion Loss Link Polarity Link Length OLTS (certification test set or light source and optical power meter) OLTS or VFL (red laser) Can be verified by inspection (of cable markers) or measured using a certification test set or OTDR OTDR OTDR OTDR
Tier 2 -- Going beyond the minimum Link baseline trace Connection or splice insertion loss Connection or splice reflectivity
Light Source(s)
Tx
Tx
Main
Remote
LED Laser One fiber at a time No length measurement But just as accurate !
Each unit has a Tx and Rx port. Tests two fibers at a time Pass/fail results Measures length
Connection
(two connectors mated thru an adapter)
Tx cord
Tx cord
Rx cord
Tx 0 dB
Rx 0.4 dB
Light Source
OPM
Light Source
OPM
1) Set reference
Measure PIN and record it as the 0 dB power level.
Link
PIN = -20 dBm
Horizontal Segment
Backbone Segment
Tx
Rx
2.0 dB
Light Source
Power (dBm)
PIN
?
POUT
IL (dB)
Distance
An OLTS treats a fiber link as a black box. It can measure only end-to-end loss.
TIER 1
(OLTS: Light Source and Power Meter)
Power (dBm)
PIN
?
POUT
IL (dB)
Distance
TIER 1 (OLTS)
And finally creates and analyzes a graph or trace of power vs. distance
PIN
C1 C2
Fiber
C3 S1 POUT
Distance
TIER 2 (OTDR)
allowing it to see into the link to measure individual connections, splices, and sections of fiber.
Thus an OTDR can make event and fiber measurements that an OLTS cant:
Event Loss Fiber Loss Slope Event reflectance (calculated from D)
Baseline Trace
OTDR Trace Report Connection
Connector Checking
Actual trace
Fault Location
Expected trace
Break
And it does not require launch and receive cables to measure link IL (more on this later).
BOTTOM LINE: It takes both an OLTS and OTDR to make all Tier 1 and Tier 2 tests.
There are two main sources of returned light on an optical fiber link: Backscatter
Reflection
OTDR pulse
Fiber
Connection
Fusion splice
Backscatter
Rayleigh scattering occurs continuously along optical fiber (at very small power levels) as the result of microscopic fluctuations of the fibers index of refraction. Scattered photons that are recaptured by the fiber and travel back toward the OTDR constitute backscatter.
OTDR pulse
Fiber
Connection
Fusion splice
Reflection
Fresnel (fra-nel) reflections are caused by major changes in group index of refraction that occur at reflective events on fiber links such as connections, mechanical splices, and the end of the fiber. Fusion splices generally cause such little change in group index of refraction that they are considered non-reflective events.
OTDR pulse
Fiber
Fiber
Connection
Fusion splice
End of Fiber
Clock
P
Processor, memory, display etc.
DSP ADC
(Digital Signal (Analog to Processor) Digital Converter)
APD
(Detector) and Amplifier
Samples
Time
Outbound pulse timedistance line
OTDR
Link under test
Distance
By knowing the speed of light in fiber, the OTDR converts sample times to distances:
Since OTDR sample times represent round-trip times: Di Di Where: c N D = = = = = speed of light in a vacuum (about 2.99 x 108 m/s) group index of refraction for the fiber under test (10 x 10 9)/2 x (3 x 10 8)/1.5 (5 x 10 9) x (2 x 10 8) 1 meter = = [Sample Time/2] x [Speed of Light in Fiber] [T i / 2] x [c / N]
An OTDR could therefore estimate distance in meters simply by dividing sample times in nanoseconds by 10. In fact, OTDRs use wavelength-specific values of N which results in greater accuracy.
Samples
Time
Outbound pulse timedistance line
Distance OTDR
Link under test
. . . or graphically:
Distance
OTDR
Total Link Length
OTDR Range
distance
Very small pulse Horiz. Backbone OTDR Range Total Link Length
Distance
OTDR
Time
Pulse with zero length
Distance
Time
Pulse with zero length
Sample
Point
Distance
So traces created with such a pulse would map each sample to a point on the fiber link.
Time
L
But real-world pulses have finite length (L) and therefore sweep out a set of lines:
Distance
Time
L
Sample
So rather than a point each sample maps to a segment of width P on the fiber link.
P
Segment
Distance
Time
A wider pulse has more power!
Backscatter power increases by 1.5 dB for each doubling of pulse width. (Fresnel reflection power is not impacted by pulse width.)
Distance
Time
Because the speed of light in optical fiber is the same in both directions, angles a and b are equal. Thus P, the effective OTDR pulse width (or simply pulse width), equals one half of the actual length of the light pulse in the fiber, L. This allows you to calculate P in meters from the OTDR setting of P in ns.
Time Distance
SoPW = L:
P=L
Distance
So, for example, if an OTDR trace looked like this using a very small (infinitesimal) pulse
0
90 m
100
200 210 m
300
400 (m)
OTDR
Link Length = 300 m OTDR Range = 400 m
0
90 m
100
200 210 m
300
400 (m)
OTDR
Link Length = 300 m OTDR Range = 400 m
L (m) = P (ns) / 5
Time
Or graphically ....
P(ns)
Distance
P (m) = P (ns) / 10
P (m) = P (ns) / 10 *
Examples: P (ns) P (meters)
Minimum pulse width (PMIN)
10 20 100 1000 2 s 10 s
* To be exact, this relationship requires that N (fibers group index of refraction) equals 1.5 and c (speed of light in a vacuum) equals 3 x 10 8 m/s exactly. However, because the GIR of most telecom fiber types is within 1% of 1.5, and C = 2.99 x 10 8 m/s, it is a very good approximation in most cases. In fact many OTDRs list available pulse width settings in both ns and meters, side-by-side, as in the example above.
PMIN
Event Dead Zone
0.5 dB
PMAX
Measurement Range 0.5 dB Level at which OTDR can accurately measure 0.5 dB event 6 dB Noise floor trace power equals average OTDR noise power or SNR = 1
Dynamic Range
MAX)
OTDR Set up
The basics
Key Parameters
Wavelength (850, 1300, 1310, 1550 nm for premises networks) Range (should be about 1.5 times link length) Pulse width Narrow pulses are best for resolving close events but are limited to short links. Wide pulses are good for measuring long links. Number of averages Traces are always averaged over hundreds or thousands of pulses. The trade-off is time vs. trace quality. After about 3 min, you get very little additional improvement. The M600 sets Range and Pulse Width automatically when AUTO SETUP is on.
Range
Where is this this event? Trace disappears into noise floor. Events can be seen and trace is smooth. Cant resolve events
Pulse Width
Trace is smooth.
Averages
Backscatter portions of an OTDR trace show power (in the fiber) vs. distance
Power (dB)
Backscatter Distance
Q: Why then is the y-axis of an OTDR trace labeled in dB rather than dBm?
Power (dB)
Backscatter Distance
Insertion loss
Distance
Insertion loss
Distance
Insertion loss
Distance
The Two Point Loss Method has two major limitations when used with real-world traces
Real-world OTDR trace, which includes effects of reflectance, effective pulse width, and noise. Ideal trace
1) Two Point Loss Method adds fiber loss to measured event loss.
A Fiber loss B
Fiber loss
Event loss
Locate active cursor (A or B) at event location it can touch start of event spike. Adjust LSA line segments so that they follow the slope of the backscatter before and after the event. Be sure near-right LSA cursor is after event tail.
IL
IL
Start method is used to determine the loss of first fiber section. But there is no way to measure IL or reflectance of a start event. Place active cursor at the start of the fiber (D=0). Adjust the LSA segment so it follows the slope of the first fiber segment. Be sure near-right LSA cursor is after event tail and neither LSA segment overlaps another event.
Level
Link IL
Fiber IL
This is a problem in premises links, which are typically short, because these connections represent a large portion of total link loss.
In this case you must add a Start Event at the near end and End Event at the far end. (Or simply use the Two-point method with cursors at either end of the fiber.)
1
Start event
2
End event
Launch Cable
Link
Fiber + Nearend IL Adding the launch cable enables the OTDR to include the loss of the near-end connection in total link loss calculations, and measure its reflectance. 1
Single event
2
End event
In this case, add a Single Event at the near-end and an End Event at the far-end.
Launch Cable
Link
Receive Cable
Link IL Adding a receive cable enables the OTDR to include the loss of the far-end connection in total link loss calculations, and measure its reflectance. 1
Single event
2
Single event
In this case add a Single Event at both the near- and far-ends.
Horizontal Segment
B A B
Backbone Segment
A
Splice
MM
SM
OTDR
Using an OTDR
To Generate a Baseline Trace
OTDR
Patch Cord
Link Length
( 130 m)
-1
Link Loss
( 2.1 dB)
-2
Splice (Loss 0.1 dB)
OTDR screen
Rcv. Cable
-3
Launch Cable
Horiz. Seg.
Backbone Segment
Trace
Distance (m)
-1
Fault !
Baseline Trace
-2
-3
New Trace
-4
-5
50
100
150
200
250
Distance (m)
APC connectors needed to reduce back reflection for video delivery if using analog video like CATV
VFI 2
Cletop cleaner
One-Click Cleaner
VS 300
VFS 2 w Probe
OFI200
VS 300
Information