Slope-assisted fast distributed sensing in optical fibers with arbitrary Brillouin profile

We present a novel method, based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), for the simultaneous distributed measurement of fast strain variations along the entire length of the sensing fiber. A specially synthesized and adaptable probe wave is used to place the Brillouin interaction always on the slope of the local Brillouin gain spectrum, allowing a single pump pulse to sample fast strain variations along the full length of a fiber with an arbitrary distribution of the Brillouin frequency shift. In this early demonstration of the method, strain vibrations of a few hundred Hz are demonstrated, simultaneously measured on two different sections of an 85m long fiber, having different static Brillouin shifts and with a spatial resolution of 1.5m. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America