Design, Characterization, and Test of a Versatile Single-Mode Power-Over-Fiber and Communication System for Seafloor Observatories

Abstract

A power-over-fiber (PoF) and communication system for extending a cabled seafloor observatory is demonstrated in this contribution. The system allows the cabled seafloor observatory to be linked, through a single optical fiber, to a sensor node located 8 km away. The PoF system is based on an optical architecture in which power and data propagate simultaneously on the same single-mode fiber. The Raman scattering effect is exploited to amplify the optical data signals and leads to the minimization of the sensor node power consumption. Versatile low power electronic interfaces have been developed to ensure compatibility with a wide range of marine sensors. A low-consumption fieldprogrammable gate array and an energy-efficient microcontroller are used to develop the electronic interfaces. For an electrical input power of 31 W, up to 190 mW is recovered at the sensor node while a data bitrate of up to 3.6 Mb/s is achieved. The PoF system has been tested and validated for turbidity and acoustic measurement applications. The current study focuses on the electronic development and the validation of the PoF system.

Smart Remote Nodes Fed by Power Over Fiber in Internet of Things Applications

“…As in high-voltage and high EMI environments [4], [5], to optically power remote antenna units [6]- [9], in defense applications [10], for temperature measurements with optical fiber pyrometers in hazardous environments [11] or to feed a video surveillance system [12], but for mostly applied to a single remote sensor. PoF is also used to monitor and control the position of fiber optic connectors in passive optical networks (PONs) [13], in-service PON monitoring [14], as well as a solution for powering remote nodes for measurements of turbidity and acoustic in seafloor [15]. Some PoF designs include either multiple sensor feeding capabilities [16]- [18] or are able to provide a feedback data communication link to the PoF transmitter [19].…”

Microwave photonic radar warning receiver: airborne antenna over fiber optic

“…So, it only compensates the link gain, but not the noise figure. To solve this problem and to reduce the noise figure, we consider now to have a remote LNA at the RWR antenna, and to use the PoF technology to feed it 20 .…”

“…In order that the system does not lose its proposed characteristic of being totally photonic, a technology called power-over-fiber (PoF) can be used. PoF consists in feeding electronic devices located in remote regions of difficult access or dangerous environments 20 .…”

Power Over Fiber in C-RAN With Low Power Sleep Mode Remote Nodes Using SMF

“…In [14], they experimentally provide 107 mW with no overall efficiency, using a 17% single PV cell efficiency and they proposed using 8 nodes at 5 km with 50 mW in each nodes, but no measurements are reported. In [11], they launch 2.5 W optical power in the system and provide an electrical power of 190 mW using 4 PV cells in 8 km optical power delivery using a SMF, reaching an efficiency of 7.5%. Lower than in our case and at a shorter distance.…”

“…On the other hand, Spatial Division Multiplexing using multicore fibers (MCF) versus bundles of optical fibers for ARoF transport in combination with PoF is proposed for 5G high-bandwidth fronthauling in the EU H2020 5G-PPP project blueSPACE [10]. Recently, SMFs have been used [11] for feeding with 190 mW electrical power a sensor node located 8 km away in a cabled seafloor observatory. The already installed SMF make it an attractive solution when convergence between wireless and optical access networks is considered.…”