Abstract

In this Letter, we combine the use of optical preamplification at the receiver and optical pulse coding techniques with an optimized modulation format to effectively extend the sensing range of Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors. Combining a return-to-zero modulation format with 25% duty cycle and linear gain preamplification allows for temperature and strain measurements over 120 km of standard single-mode fiber with 3 m spatial resolution and an rms strain-temperature accuracy of 3.1 degrees C/60 mu e respectively. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America