Optical Backscatter Reflectometry: The Key to Accelerating Design Verification and Troubleshooting of Next Generation Optical Network Components

Overview

High-resolution optical backscatter reflectometry (OBR) has become a valuable tool in the design, test and diagnostics of fiber components, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and short fiber networks. In much the same way that standard OTDRs identify and locate issues and sources of loss in long-range fiber optic systems, high-resolution OBRs can locate and identify issues and defects with sub-millimeter resolution and since they don't suffer from the "deadzones" associated with OTDR, they are ideal for components and short-run optical networks like those found in modern, high-speed communications networks and data links. This webinar will review how OBR technology works, how it differs from alternative reflectometry techniques, and describe real-world application examples. These application examples include characterizing the optical performance and quality of silicon photonic components such as waveguides and troubleshooting short fiber networks like those found in data centers and on aircraft. These application examples will illustrate how high-resolution OBR delivers an extreme level of detail and sensitivity in identifying sources of loss (bends, breaks, bad splices, defects, interfaces, etc.), as well as making very precise latency measurements. The webinar will include live software demos to illustrate the operation of OBR instruments with real-world optical components and systems.