TESTING FIBER ARRANGEMENT IN MULTI-FIBER CABLES

摘要

There is provided a method and a system for identifying or verifying the fiber arrangement and/or the cable type of multi-fiber array cables (such as MPO cables) which employs an OTDR acquisition device at the near end of the MPO cable, a loopback device at the far end and an array of signatures detectable by the OTDR, either at the far or the near end. The loopback device allows performing bidirectional OTDR measurements with a single OTDR acquisition device (without moving it from one end to the other) and the signature array provides fiber arrangement/cable type identification or verification.

主权项

1. An optical reflectometry system for identifying a fiber arrangement in a multi-fiber cable link comprising a number of optical fiber links each connected between a front multi-fiber connector, at a near end of said cable link, and an end multi-fiber connector, at a far end, according to said fiber arrangement, the system comprising:
an optical reflectometry acquisition device to be coupled toward said cable link at said near end for performing optical reflectometry acquisitions toward a plurality of said optical fiber links; a loopback device to be coupled to said cable link at said far end and comprising optical fiber loops arranged to couple each of the optical fiber ports of the end multi-fiber connector to another of its optical fiber ports; and an array of signatures to be coupled to said cable link at one of said far end and said near end and comprising optical fiber paths to be coupled to said optical fiber links, respectively, at least two said optical fiber paths having a corresponding optical signature thereon, the optical signatures being detectable and mutually-distinguishable by said optical reflectometry system.