Loss distribution measurement of silica-based waveguides by using ajaggedness-free optical low coherence reflectometer

The loss distributions in silica-based waveguides are successfully measured using a jaggedness-free optical reflectometer (OLCR). The OLCR reduces jagged fluctuations which appear in Rayleigh backscattering measurements undertaken with conventional OLCRs to within ±1 dB by averaging the wavelength-dependent Rayleigh backscatter signals. Constant loss distributions and a step-like loss increase in the waveguides were clearly observed