OTDR in optical transmission systems using Er-doped fiber amplifiers containing optical circulators

Fault location in optical amplifier transmission systems is described. Optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) cannot be used for an optical transmission line containing traditional Er-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) because they contain optical isolators. The authors propose an OTDR scheme that uses new EDFAs containing optical circulators and return transmission lines. The new EDFAs support both OTDR and digital signal transmission. A 280.9 km transmission line containing three of the proposed EDFAs was constructed and tested. Experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of OTDR fault location and 1.8-Gb/s digital signal transmission.<>