ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors argue that the distributed sensing of physical parameters such as strain and temperature using the aforementioned techniques. Optical fibers are ubiquitous in communication primarily because of its high information-carrying capacity, low loss, small size, negligible electromagnetic interference, low maintenance, and relatively smaller operating expense. Brillouin scattering is based on the interaction of light with acoustic modes propagating in the optical fiber. After being a laboratory curiosity for a couple of decades, optical fiber sensors are gaining widespread commercial acceptance and are rapidly becoming the technology of choice for physical sensing. Distributed sensing of physical parameters such as strain and temperature using inelastic scattering process in optical fibers is a unique technology. The acoustic wave propagation is dependent on the density of the material, which in turn is dependent on physical parameters such as strain and temperature, Brillouin scattering may be used to sense such parameters.
