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Fiber optic networks are used worldwide and have been regarded as excellent media for transmitting time-frequency (TF) signals. In the past decades, fiber-based TF synchronization techniques have been extensively studied. Instruments based on these techniques have been successfully applied. With the increasing application of TF synchronization instruments, their security has become an important issue. Unfortunately, the security risks of fiber-based frequency synchronization (FbFS) instruments have been overlooked. This paper proposes a frequency tampering method called "frequency lens". On a 200 km fiber link, we demonstrate a frequency tampering scenario using a frequency lens-enabled frequency tampering module (FTM). On the user side, the frequency value of the recovered 100 MHz signal can be stealthily altered within a range of 100 MHz-100 Hz to 100 MHz+100 Hz, while the frequency dissemination stability of the system remains normal. Related to this tampering risk, potential hazards in three different application scenarios, which rely on precise frequency references, are analyzed. Two countermeasures are also proposed to solve this tampering risk.

The maintenance and repair of optical fiber networks often requires the discrimination of underground cables among a group of buried ones. Presently, the methods commonly used are either inefficient or harmful to the fiber cable. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of fiber optic vibration sensing method on underground fiber cable discrimination. We find that the typical vibration sensing method-distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is not suitable for fiber cable discrimination. Especially for long distance scenario, due to "frequency grafting" effect, the DAS method will give a false response on the spectrum of knock events during cable discrimination process. In response, we propose an underground fiber cable discrimination method based on laser interferometer, and demonstrate it on the 40-km urban fiber cable connecting Tsinghua University and Yongding Road. It can give an obvious and real response to the knock event, and can be used in practical applications.

The optical fiber network has become a worldwide infrastructure. In addition to the basic functions in telecommunication, its sensing ability has attracted more and more attention. In this paper, we discuss the risk of household fiber being used for eavesdropping and demonstrate its performance in the lab. Using a 3-meter tail fiber in front of the household optical modem, voices of normal human speech can be eavesdropped by a laser interferometer and recovered 1.1 km away. The detection distance limit and system noise are analyzed quantitatively. We also give some practical ways to prevent eavesdropping through household fiber., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Optics Express

Widely distributed optical fibers, together with phase-sensitive laser interferometry, can expand seismic detection methods and have great potential for epicenter localization. In this paper, we propose an integral response method based on a forward transmission scheme. It uses spectrum analysis and parameter fitting to localize the epicenter. With the given shape of the fiber ring, the integral phase changes of light propagating in the forward and reverse directions can be used to determine the direction, depth, distance of the epicenter, and seismic wave speed. For the noisy case with SNR=20 dB, the simulation results show ultrahigh precision when epicenter distance is 200 km: the error of the orientation angle is ~0.003{\deg}, the error of the P-wave speed is ~0.9 m/s, the error of the epicenter depth is ~9.5 m, and the error of the epicenter distance is ~200 m., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Optics Express

Time delay estimation (TDE) is an important step to identify and locate vibration source. The TDE result can be obtained by cross-correlation method through seeking the maximum correlation peak of two signals. However, the cross-correlation method will induce random error when dealing with the nonstationary signal. We propose a novel time shifting deviation (TSDEV) method to solve this problem, which has been proved to achieve ultrahigh precision localization result in the fiber vibration monitoring system. This paper compares TSDEV method with cross-correlation in detail by simulating TDE process in different conditions, such as signals with arbitrary intercepted length, nonstationary drift and correlated noise. Besides, experimental demonstration has been carried out on 60 km fiber to localize a wide band vibration signal. The typical localization error is 2 m with standard deviation of 21.4 m using TSDEV method. It stands in clear contrast to the result of cross-correlation method, whose localization error is 70 m and the standard deviation is 208.4 m. Compared with cross-correlation method, TSDEV has the same resistance to white noise, but has fewer boundary conditions and better suppression on linear drift or common noise, which leads to more precise TDE results., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Journal of Lightwave Technology

Using fiber network as a huge sensing system will enrich monitoring methods of public infrastructures and geological disasters. With traditional cross-correlation method, laser interferometer has been used to detect and localize the vibration event. However, the random error induced by cross-correlation method limits the localization accuracy, and makes it not suitable for ultrahigh precision localizing applications. We propose a novel time shifting deviation (TSDEV) method, which has advantages over cross-correlation method in practicability and localization accuracy. Three experiments are carried out to demonstrate the novelty of the TSDEV method. In lab test, vibration localization accuracy of ~2.5 m is realized. In field tests, TSDEV method enhanced interferometry is applied to monitor the urban fiber link. Traffic vibration events on the campus road and Beijing ring road have been precisely localized and analyzed, respectively. The proposed technique will extend the function of existing urban fiber network, and better serve the future smart city., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, research article published in Photonics Research