Direct polarization-heterodyne measurement of Kerr-induced birefringence in optical fibers

Author

Pietralunga, Silvia M. ; Tonini, Andrea ; Martelli, Paolo ; Ferrario, Maddalena ; Martinelli, Mario

Author_Institution

CORECOM, Consorzio Richerche Elaborazione Commutazione Ottica Milano, Italy

Volume

12

Issue

9

fYear

2000

Firstpage

1231

Lastpage

1233

Abstract

We have directly measured the amount of birefringence induced by nonlinear Kerr effect in standard optical fibers, by means of a double-polarization-heterodyne method, suitable for characterizing short samples of fibers. Birefringence is measured with a resolution of /spl Delta/n/spl ap/10/sup -12/ and the optical Kerr coefficient is extracted. The agreement of experimental results and theoretical predictions confirms the accuracy of the technique.

Keywords

birefringence; heterodyne detection; measurement errors; optical Kerr effect; optical fibre polarisation; optical fibre testing; Kerr-induced birefringence; accuracy; birefringence; direct polarization-heterodyne measurement; double-polarization-heterodyne method; nonlinear Kerr effect; optical Kerr coefficient; optical fibers; resolution; standard optical fibers; Birefringence; Fiber nonlinear optics; Kerr effect; Nonlinear optics; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fibers; Optical modulation; Optical propagation; Optical pumping; Optical sensors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.874245

Filename

874245