Backscatter Reflectometer 4200

Luna Innovations Inc.

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Luna Technologies, a division of Luna Innovations Inc., has launched the optical backscatter reflectometer 4200, a new generation portable ultrahigh-resolution device offering advanced inspection and diagnostic capabilities to manufacturers and installers of fiber optic assemblies and short networks.

It produces 1000 times higher resolution than an optical time domain reflectometer, according to the company, and is highly sensitive.

Optical fiber infrastructure is being deployed more rapidly and widely than ever before in applications where the total optical fiber length is relatively short, i.e., <500 m. Applications of short-run fiber systems include telecommunications and data networking, commercial and military avionics, medical imaging systems, and fiber sensing applications for monitoring of infrastructure such as bridges, dams and oil pipelines.

The company’s technological approach is based on swept laser interferometry.

Applications include total fiber system quality control to ensure component performance and network uptime; insertion and return loss verification for fiber cables, connections, components and splices; and high-resolution fault location and failure analysis to determine bend, break, bad splice and bad connector points.

Features include battery-powered operation with Panasonic Toughbook, fault discrimination with better than 3-mm spatial resolution, measurement of networks up to 500 m in length with no dead zone, and Rayleigh-level sensitivity down to -120 dB over the entire measurement range. Operating temperature is 0 to 40 °C, and battery life is 5 h. The reflectometer measures 0.22 × 0.27 × 0.10 and weighs 4.45 kg.

The device achieves 0.1-dB insertion loss resolution and can identify nonreflective failures. It operates at 1540 nm with single- and multimode capability, and it includes a customizable software interface.

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Published: May 2010