Title :
Measurement of mode couplings and extinction ratios in polarization-maintaining fibers
Author :
Tsubokawa, Makoto ; Higashi, Tsunehito ; Sasaki, Yutaka
Author_Institution :
Electr. Commun. Lab., NTT, Ibaraki, Japan
Abstract :
Polarization mode couplings in the axial direction are evaluated for polarization-maintaining fibers using optical heterodyne detection. To verify the validity of this approach for fibers with various coupling constants, the method is applied to three fibers with modal birefringence values of 3.0*10/sup -4/, 1.1*10/sup -4/, and 1.5*10/sup -4/, respectively. The coupling constants in the 1.7*10/sup -4/ m/sup -1/ to 6.4*10/sup -7/ m/sup -1/ range are evaluated with a length resolution of 1 m. The extinction ratios are obtained from the coupling constants averaged over the fiber lengths. These values are in good agreement with the values measured directly from power ratios between the orthogonally polarized modes.<>
Keywords :
light polarisation; optical fibres; optical testing; optical variables measurement; extinction ratios; mode couplings; optical heterodyne detection; polarization-maintaining fibers; Couplings; Extinction coefficients; Extinction ratio; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fiber sensors; Optical interferometry; Optical mixing; Optical sensors; Optical waveguides;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
