Page 24: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2017)

Fiber Optics

Changes in pressure or temperature modify the backscatter date is also increasing, from a dozen or fewer today to 24 or pro? le, allowing highly accurate measurements by monitoring even 48 ? bers in the near future. Figure 1 shows the TE Con- the backscattered light. Because the velocity of light in a ? ber nectivity’s (TE) SEACON 24/48 channel HydraLight wet- is well understood, the backscattered light reveals information mate connector for optical subsea distribution systems.

on both the magnitude of measurement and its location along Such advances in technology have increased interest in opti- the length of the ? ber. cal connectivity. Subsea connectors, for either copper or ? ber

Since each ? ber is smaller and more capable than a copper cables, face an extremely harsh operating environment charac- cable, the number of ? bers an umbilical cable can accommo- terized by high pressure, temperature extremes and corrosion-

Figure 2:

Insert top left: TE Con- nectivity DEUTSCH Fiber

Optic Feedthrough Sys- tem for Horizontal XT.

TE Connectivity DEUTSCH

Fiber Optic In-Well Wet

Mate Connectors

Photo: TE Connectivity

March 2017 24 MTR

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