EXFO Inc.

There is provided a chromatic dispersion measurement method and system for characterizing an optical fiber link under test. From a proximal end of the optical fiber link, at least one OTDR acquisition is performed, wherein each OTDR acquisition is performed by propagating in the optical fiber link under test, at least one test signal comprising a plurality of light pulses in accordance with a known sequence of pulses and detecting corresponding return light signal from the optical fiber link so as to obtain a trace representing backscattered and reflected light as a function of distance in the optical fiber link under test, and wherein said test signals have mutually different wavelengths. For each test signal and corresponding wavelength, a position of the reflective peak associated with a remote end of the optical fiber link is extracted from the return light signal by calculating a cross-correlation between the known sequence of pulses and the acquired trace. A value of a chromatic dispersion coefficient associated with said optical fiber link is then calculated from values of the extracted positions and corresponding wavelengths.

There is provided an OTDR method of assisting a user in finding a temporary event along an optical fiber link using an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR). The method comprises: performing at least one OTDR acquisition toward the optical fiber link to obtain a baseline OTDR trace, wherein each OTDR acquisition is performed by propagating in the optical fiber link under test, a pulsed test signal and detecting corresponding return light from the optical fiber link so as to obtain an OTDR trace representing backscattered and reflected light as a function of distance in the optical fiber link; repeating OTDR acquisitions in real-time to obtain real-time OTDR traces; and for each new OTDR acquisition, comparing the corresponding real-time OTDR trace to the baseline OTDR trace to detect a temporary deformation of the OTDR trace using at least one of a difference between the baseline OTDR trace and the real-time OTDR trace and a derivative thereof, said temporary deformation being indicative of the presence of the temporary event along the optical fiber link.

Systems and methods for inspecting optical fibers are provided. A method, according to one implementation, includes steps of obtaining an image of an end-face of an optical fiber; analyzing the image with a pre-trained neural network model to classify pixels therein as any of a defect, a scratch, or clean; aggregating the pixels based on proximity to obtain defect segments or scratch segments; characterizing these defect segments and scratch segments based on but not limited to size and location, and providing an output including any of the defect segments or scratch segments.

There is provided an adapter tip to be employed with an optical-fiber connector-endface inspection microscope device and an optical-fiber connector endface inspection microscope system suitable for imaging angled-polished optical-fiber endface(s) of an optical-fiber connector. The proposed adapter tip or microscope system comprises relay optics comprising a multifaceted optical prism defining a first reflecting plane surface, a second reflecting plane surface and a third reflecting plane surface, used to deflect inspection light coming from the endface(s) through reflection of illumination light—referred to hereinafter as the object beam—towards and substantially in line with the optical axis of the objective lens of the optical-fiber connector-endface inspection microscope device.

Described herein are systems and methods for testing connectivity of strands of a fiber optic cable, the ends of which terminate at a first site and a second site. A method, according to one implementation, includes the step of coordinating the first and second sites to generate a signal at a first end of the strands and to detect presence of the signal at a second end of the strands. The method also includes receiving confirmation information from the first and second sites pertaining to the signal being generated and detected. Also, the method includes the steps of utilizing the confirmation information to match the first end of the strands with the second end of the strands for determining fiber strand connectivity between the first site and the second site and then creating a connectivity map showing the fiber strand connectivity.

There is provided a method of measuring the PMD of an optical fiber under test (FUT). A polarization-sensitive optical time domain reflectometer (POTDR) is used to inject into the FUT and from a proximal end thereof, a test signal comprising a series of repeated light pulses and detecting a corresponding polarization-analyzed return light signal coming back from the optical fiber and representing back-reflected light from a light reflector connected to a distal end of the FUT, said return light signal comprising repeated reflected light pulses. The plurality of polarization-sensitive acquisitions defines at least one pair of acquisitions performed with mutually different but closely-spaced wavelengths and substantially the same state of polarization (SOP), a center of said wavelengths defining a center wavelength for said at least one pair. The process may be repeated for a plurality of pairs of acquisitions performed with at least one of a plurality of mutually-different center wavelengths and a plurality of mutually-different states of polarization (SOP). For each said acquisitions, respective amplitudes of at least part of the repeated reflected light pulses are averaged so as to obtain an averaged reflected power. The PMD is obtained by, for each said pairs of said acquisitions, computing a value of a difference between the two averaged reflected powers corresponding to said pair, followed by the mean-square value of computed values of difference over said at least one of a plurality of mutually-different center wavelengths and a plurality of mutually-different states of polarizations (SOPs) and, from said mean-square value, calculating a value of the PMD for the optical fiber under test.

Systems, methods, and devices for testing optical fibers are provided. According to one implementation, an optical fiber testing apparatus may include an optical test unit configured to obtain a characterization of an optical fiber to be tested. Additionally, the optical fiber testing apparatus may include a visible light source and an analysis and control device. For example, the analysis and control device may be configured to adapt the visible light source to a specific power level based on the characterization of the optical fiber.

An optical test device, in combination with a removable connector adapter, is provided. A method of testing an optical fiber is also provided. The test device comprises a test port configured to interface with optical-fiber cables having a given number of optical fibers. The connector adapter comprises a device connector adapted to connect to test port; and a fiber-under-test (FUT) connector adapted connect to an optical-fiber cable, such as a test cord connectable to the FUT. The FUT connector is configured to interface with optical-fiber cables having a number of fibers that is different from the number of fibers of the test port. The optical test device comprises a processing unit configurable to adjust the tests to be conducted based on the connector adapter detected, and to adapt the user interfaces and test parameters accordingly.

Systems, methods, and devices for testing for faults in a fiber optic cable are provided. A Visual Fault Locator (VFL), according to one implementation, includes an output port configured for connection with an optical fiber to be tested. The VFL also includes a variable light source configured to emit visible light at different power levels from the output port. For example, the different power levels may correspond with different light intensity levels. In some implementations, the VFL may further include a gain control device connected to the variable light source, whereby the gain control device may be configured to control the power of the variable light source to enable the variable light source to emit the visible light at multiple power levels.