2018/07/25 by Gil Bashan, Hilel Hagai Diamandi, Yosef London +2 · 128 citations
Chemical Engineering · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Acoustics #Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors #Analytical Chemistry and Sensors #Cladding (metalworking) #Composite material #Computer science #Core (optical fiber) #Distributed acoustic sensing #Fiber optic sensor #Materials science #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Optical fiber #Optics #Optoelectronics #Physics #Rayleigh scattering #Reflectometry #Scattering #Time domain #physics.app-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05404-0
published in Nature Communications 9(1), 2991 (Nature Portfolio)
openalex publication_date 2018/07/25 · arxiv created 2018/11/15 · arxiv updated 2018/11/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Optical fibres constitute an exceptional sensing platform. However, standard fibres present an inherent sensing challenge: they confine light to an inner core. Consequently, distributed fibre sensors are restricted to the measurement of conditions that prevail within the core. This work presents distributed analysis of media outside unmodified, standard fibre. Measurements are based on stimulated scattering by guided acoustic modes, which allow us to listen where we cannot look. The protocol overcomes a major difficulty: guided acoustic waves induce forward scattering, which cannot be mapped using time-of-flight. The solution relies on mapping the Rayleigh backscatter contributions of two optical tones, which are coupled by the acoustic wave. Analysis is demonstrated over 3 km of fibre with 100 m resolution. Measurements distinguish between air, ethanol and water outside the cladding, and between air and water outside polyimide-coated fibres. The results establish a new sensor configuration: optomechanical time-domain reflectometry, with several potential applications.