Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

This advanced diagnostic tool for optical fibres allows the Fibre Engineer to take a snapshot of a fibre link.The OTDR sends short pulses of light down one end of a fibre at a specified repetition rate.Light reflected back from fibre discontinuities and light continuously back scattered from the fibre itself travels back to the OTDR, where the instrument records the optical power and arrival time.The arrival time of the pulse from a given point in the fibre is related to its distance from the OTDR.With this information, the OTDR graphically displays returned power versus distance.OTDRs are well-equipped for troubleshooting problems because they allow you to visually locate reflective events like connections and fibre breaks and non-reflective events like splices and tight bends by studying the graphical trace. The power difference between two points on the trace is an estimate of optical loss.