Patent ID: 7746480

Claim:
An apparatus for characterizing at least one fiber Bragg grating, the apparatus comprising: a first optical path configured to be optically coupled to a light source and to receive at least one input light pulse from the light source, the first optical path comprising a pulse stretcher and an attenuator, wherein a first portion of the input light pulse is stretched by the pulse stretcher and is attenuated by the attenuator; a second optical path optically coupled to the first optical path and comprising a reflective element, wherein a first portion of the stretched and attenuated light pulse from the first optical path is reflected from the reflected element; a third optical path optically coupled to the first optical path and configured to be optically coupled to at least one fiber Bragg grating such that a second portion of the stretched and attenuated light pulse from the first optical path is reflected from the at least one fiber Bragg grating; a fourth optical path optically coupled to the second optical path and the third optical path, the fourth optical path configured to be optically coupled to an optical spectrum analyzer and to transmit the reflected pulse from the reflective element and the reflected pulse from the at least one fiber Bragg grating to the optical spectrum analyzer; and a fifth optical path comprising a delay line, wherein the fifth optical path is configured to be optically coupled to the light source and to the optical spectrum analyzer such that a second portion of the input light pulse propagates from the light source along the fifth optical path to the optical spectrum analyzer.