All-fiber connectorized fiber-optic delay module using 3-D polarization optics

Reversible photonic delay line (PDL) architectures based on optical polarization switching 2-D pixelated spatial light modulators (SLMs) have been proposed for phased array radar control. An important issue for the implementation of PDLs that use 2-D polarization switches is packaging. Compact PDL modules are necessary for fielded systems where space and volume on the application platform (e.g., aircraft) are limited. So far, no ultracompact PDL design based on polarization bulk-optics has been proposed. In addition, no polarization-based fiber PDL has been proposed that is easily adaptable to generate any user desired optical delay. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a PDL module that meets the above mentioned requirements i.e., compactness and time delay adaptability. Our approach for achieving this PDL involves using microlens and FC/PC connectorized fiber-optics