Measurement of Rayleigh backscattering at 1.55 mu m with 32 mu m spatial resolution

Abstract

Rayleigh backscattering at a wavelength of 1.55 mu m is measured in standard single-mode fiber with a spatial resolution of 32 mu m and a dynamic range of over 30 dB. A minimum reflection sensitivity of -148 dB is the best reported to date using optical low-coherence reflectometry.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>