Measurement of birefringence dispersion in polarization-maintaining fibers by white-light spectral interferometric techniques

Abstract

We present two different white-light spectral interferometric techniques to measure birefringence dispersion in two different elliptical-core polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs). The first method is based on application of a lateral point-like force on a fiber under test and resolution of the spectral interference fringes and is used for measuring the wavelength dependence of the phase modal birefringence. The second method employs a Michelson interferometer that compensates the differential group optical path difference in the tandem PMF and is used for measuring the wavelength dependence of the group modal birefringence. The second method is also utilized for determining the sign of the group modal birefringence.

High precision measurement technology for beat length of birefringence optical fiber

“…There have been several methods to determine it, such as the magneto-optical modulation method, the pressure scanning method, the polarization 1 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. interference method and the Rayleigh scattering method [3][4][5][6][7][8]. However, all these have disadvantages including the complexity of the experimental setup, low resolution, stability, etc.…”