<title>Stokes-Mueller formalism and Poincare sphere representation applied to studies of monomode optical fibers</title>

Abstract

The Mueller matrix method is powerful for the experimental determination of optical devices polarization behaviors. In the particular case of optical fiber, this method has rarely been used. An experimental methodology for measuring Mueller matrices of monomode fiber under uniform strains is presented. On the base of a theoretical model derived from coupled-mode equations, the physical parameters of the fiber can be estimated. These estimate parameters can then be used to test the validity of this model and to evaluate their influence on the polarimetric behavior of the fiber.