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Data centers

Patent Granted for Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing Enabled Self-Coherent Detection for Data Centers

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Patent No. 12442681 was granted for a novel method of integrating distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) into data center self-coherent detection, enabling real-time monitoring of environmental and equipment conditions. This breakthrough innovation could potentially revolutionize data center operations, improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing overall performance. The inventors, Yue-Kai Huang and Ezra Ip, from Princeton and West Windsor, New Jersey, respectively, developed the technology that combines self-coherent detection with DFOS, allowing for simultaneous data transmission and sensing.

Key Takeaways:

  • The granted patent (No. 12442681) features a dual-fiber, bidirectional, fiber optic communications link that enables DFOS and supports high-speed data transmission.
  • The innovative system combines self-coherent detection and DFOS to monitor environmental and equipment conditions in real-time, such as vibration, infrastructure health, and intrusion detection.
  • The inventors' approach utilizes minimal changes to transponder arrangements and no additional bandwidth to DACs or ADCs, making it a more efficient and cost-effective solution.
  • This technology can be used to provide new revenue sources for telecom operators and improve the operational aspects of data centers, including self-homodyne detection for increased spectral efficiency.
  • Self-homodyne detection schemes have been proposed to increase spectral efficiency in intra-data center links, with applications in bi-directional coherent transceivers.
  • The inventors' summary emphasizes the importance of their innovation, stating that the sensing signal(s) and data signal(s) are optically multiplexed, requiring minimal changes to transponder arrangements and no additional bandwidth.

Statistics:

  • The patent was filed on October 16, 2022, and published online on October 14, 2025 (Patent URL: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(12442681)&db=USPAT&type=ids).
  • The patent features 9 claims, including claims for a dual-fiber, bidirectional, fiber optic communications link (claim 1) and the detection of data signals combined with Rayleigh backscatter (claim 2).
  • The sensing signals can be a train of rectangular pulses (claim 3), chirped pulses (claim 4), or Golay-coded sequences (claim 5).

Sources:

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Huang, Yue-Kai. Distributed fiber optic sensing enabled self-coherent detection for data centers. U.S. Patent Number 12442681, filed October 16, 2022, and published online on October 14, 2025. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(12442681)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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