Enhancement of Signal-to-noise Ratio Based on Multiplication Function for Phi-OTDR

We propose a novel methodology based on the multiplication function to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for vibration detection in a phi optical time-domain reflectometer system (phi-OTDR). The extreme-mean complementary empirical mode decomposition (ECEMD) is designed to break down the original signal into a set of inherent mode functions (IMFs). The multiplication function in terms of selected IMFs is used to determine a vibration’s position. By this method, the SNR of a phi-OTDR system is enhanced by several orders of magnitude. Simulations and experiments applying the method to real data prove the validity of the proposed approach.