Optical waveguide system for interrogating a plurality of sensor nodes wherein a location of the received input signal is determined

摘要

A system including an optical waveguide having a length extending from an optical interrogator at a first end, a plurality of light-modulating sensor nodes disposed at predetermined locations along the length of the optical waveguide, each of the plurality of light-modulating sensor nodes having an optical modulator for modulating an optical signal propagating from the optical interrogator in the optical waveguide, and for returning the modulated optical signal to the optical interrogator in an opposite direction along the same optical waveguide path.

主权项

1. A system for optically sensing signals, comprising:
an optical waveguide having a length extending from an optical interrogator at a first end wherein the optical waveguide is configured to propagate optical pulses from the optical interrogator; and a plurality of light-modulating sensor nodes coupled to the optical waveguide at predetermined locations along the length of the optical waveguide, each of the plurality of sensor nodes comprising an optical modulator configured to modulate an optical pulse of the optical pulses when an input signal is received, and wherein, when the input signal is received, a particular sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes that comprises the optical modulator that modulated the optical pulse based on the input signal is configured to return the modulated optical pulse to the optical interrogator in an opposite direction along the same optical waveguide path such that a location of the input signal is determined based on the distance of the particular sensor node from the optical interrogator along the length of the optical waveguide.