Method and apparatus for monitoring mechanical fiber stress of optical fiber spans

摘要

The length of the optical fiber section under tension expands by a certain amount that is proportional to the level of tension applied to it. Monitoring the variations in the phase of the arriving signal allows to discover a fiber that is subject to a certain level of mechanical tension. With the method and apparatus according to the present invention it is possible to protect optical communication channels against failures in an optical transmission fiber that are caused by any kind of mechanical disturbances.

主权项

1. A method for monitoring mechanical fiber stress of optical fiber spans within an optical network comprising:
monitoring continuously a timing phase of a received optical signal transported through said optical fiber spans; deriving the mechanical fiber stress in said optical fiber spans on the basis of an observed phase shift of said timing phase within a predetermined observation period of time, wherein the timing phase of the received optical signal is extracted by a clock recovery block of a receiver receiving said optical signal transported through said optical fiber spans.