Remote picometer fiber Bragg grating demodulation using a dual-wavelength source.

We report on the self-referenced, intensity-based, remote and passive interrogation of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for point sensing, by use of a reconfigurable dual-wavelength source composed of a tunable wavelength and subsequent suppressed-carrier, electro-optic amplitude modulation. The demodulation procedure is based on the measurement of the reflected power at two different wavelengths within the FBG spectral response. The grating was interrogated by use of conventional spectral analysis, and also after 32.9 km of single-mode fiber using a dispersive incoherent optical Fourier-domain reflectometry technique. Both procedures provide picometer resolution in the determination of Bragg wavelength shifts at a comparatively similar scan time (∼1  s) and received power (-16  dBm). The main limitations in each interrogation scheme have been identified. These results show the feasibility of interrogation systems incorporating relatively simple frequency combs at a calibrated, and eventually reconfigurable, wavelength grid with an, at least, similar performance to that of commercial FBG interrogators.