Optical low coherence reflectometer with a 47-dB dynamic range achieved by using a fluoride-based erbium-doped fiber amplifier

We describe a jaggedness-free optical low coherence reflectometer (OLCR) with a high power tunable narrow-band light source which employs a fluoride-based erbium-doped fiber amplifier. The use of the amplifier simplifies the structure of the source and enables us to generate narrow-band light with a power of 18±0.2 dBm in the 1530-1560 nm wavelength range and with a reduced background level in each spectrum. The OLCR achieves a dynamic range of 47 dB and the signal fluctuations caused by residual speckle-like noise in the Rayleigh backscattering measurement are less than ±1 dB. This is the best data yet obtained with a diode-pumped fiber amplifier. The diagnosis of fiber-optic attenuators is successfully demonstrated using the OLCR