Polarization control for coherent fiber-optic systems using nematic liquid crystals

Author

Rumbaugh, Scott H. ; Jones, Michael D. ; Casperson, Lee W.

Author_Institution

Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, OR, USA

Volume

8

Issue

3

fYear

1990

fDate

3/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

459

Lastpage

465

Abstract

One of the obstacles to coherent fiber-optic communications is the unpredictable polarization drift which necessitates the use of an active polarization controlling system to match the polarizations of the signal and local oscillator. The polarization match must be maintained during the reset of any of the finite range components to prevent loss of data. A novel and practical system which uses three liquid-crystal devices for the polarization matching process is presented, and the required reset control algorithm and its derivation are described in detail

Keywords

light coherence; light polarisation; nematic liquid crystals; optical communication equipment; optical fibres; optical variables control; active polarization controlling system; coherent fiber-optic systems; finite range components; liquid-crystal devices; local oscillator; local oscillator polarization; nematic liquid crystals; polarisation control; polarization match; reset control algorithm; signal polarisation; unpredictable polarization drift; Communication system control; Control systems; Liquid crystal devices; Liquid crystals; Local oscillators; Optical fiber communication; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber polarization; Optical polarization; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.50741

Filename

50741