How to obtain high spectral resolution of SBS-based distributed sensing by using nanosecond pulses

The ultimate spectral and spatial resolutions of distributed sensing based on stimulated Brillouin scattering ( SBS) in optical fibers is shown for several- nanosecond Stokes pulses. Precise measurements of the local Brillouin frequency, with a spectral resolution close to the natural linewidth and, simultaneously, the spatial resolution of the pulse length are provided by AC detection of the output pump in the case of a finite cw component ( base) of the Stokes pulse. Simulation examples of SBS- based sensing for fibers containing sections with different Brillouin frequencies are presented, demonstrating the high resolution of the sensing. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.