Signal Processing for Delay Measurements in Optical Amplifiers

The usage of the fibre-optic communication lines with optical amplifiers for the high-precision synchronization of the time scales of the remote clocks is considered. The need to control the signal propagation delays in the optical amplifiers is shown. Requirements for the accuracy of the delay measurements are formulated. Methods for the measuring signal propagation delays in the optical amplifiers are presented. Different schemes for the delay measurements are proposed. The methods of the data processing during the delay measurements in the optical amplifiers using the proposed setup are presented. The main sources of errors in the measured signal delays in the optical amplifiers are listed, the results of the studies on the accuracy of the delay measurement methods are presented. The results of the experimental studies of the measuring setup confirm the possibility to develop the measuring devices based on the proposed schemes and the data processing methods and allow to achieve the required accuracy of the delay measurements in the optical amplifiers.