Optimization of SNR improvement in the noncoherent OTDR based on simplex codes

Abstract

This paper demonstrates signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement of an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) using simplex codes (scs) for the first time. By developing a generalized procedure for the analysis of noise transfer in the coded OTDR employing L-bit scs, the SNR dependence on the receiver bandwidth is also investigated. Experimental results obtained from a constructed sc-OTDR showed excellent agreement with theoretical results over entire code lengths. Improvement of the SNR up to 9.2 dB has been demonstrated using 255-bit scs.