Random Quadrature Demodulation for Direct Detection Single-Pulse Rayleigh C-OTDR

We present a demodulation method that partially compensates for the nonlinear and random transfer function of fiber-optic direct detection coherent Rayleigh optical time-domain reflectometry (C-OTDR). Specifically, the proposed method is shown to improve the detection of small amplitude, high-frequency dynamic optical fiber strain as it occurs in acoustic emission sensing. The method is applicable provided that the dynamic fiber strain to be sensed is known to affect a longer section of sensing fiber in a spatially homogeneous way. It is shown that this knowledge can be used to extract more quantitative information from the measured C-OTDR signal by averaging signal components from the affected fiber section in a suitable and efficient way. The theoretical basis of the method is developed and supporting experimental results are presented.