Influence of polarization extinction ratio on distributed polarization coupling detection

Abstract

Distributed polarization coupling in polarization-maintaining fibers can be detected by using a white light Michelson interferometer. This technique usually requires that only one polarization mode is excited. However, in practical measurement, the injection polarization direction could not be exactly aligned to one of the principal axes of the PMF, so the influence of the polarization extinction ratio should be considered. Based on the polarization coupling theory, the influence of the incident polarization extinction on the measurement result is evaluated and analyzed, and a method for distributed polarization coupling detection is developed when both two orthogonal eigenmodes are excited.