A polarization-stable Er-doped superfluorescent fiber source including a Faraday rotator mirror

Author

Falquier, D.G. ; Digonnet, M.J.F. ; Shaw, H.J.

Author_Institution

Edward L. Ginzton Lab., Stanford Univ., CA, USA

Volume

12

Issue

11

fYear

2000

Firstpage

1465

Lastpage

1467

Abstract

We report a tenfold stability improvement in the mean wavelength variations induced by polarization fluctuations in an Er-doped superfluorescent fiber source. This was accomplished by replacing the mirror in a double-pass source with a Faraday rotator mirror, thereby nearly eliminating polarization dependent gain. The resulting mean wavelength variations of less than 3.5 parts-per-million (limited by the detection noise floor), approach the requirement for inertial-grade fiber optic gyroscopes.

Keywords

Faraday effect; erbium; fibre optic gyroscopes; fluctuations; light sources; magneto-optical devices; mirrors; optical design techniques; optical fibre polarisation; superradiance; Er-doped superfluorescent fiber source; Faraday rotator mirror; detection noise floor; double-pass source; fiber optic gyroscopes; inertial-grade fiber optic gyroscopes; mean wavelength variations; mirror; polarization dependent gain; polarization fluctuations; polarization-stable Er-doped superfluorescent fiber source; stability improvement; Fluctuations; Gyroscopes; Laser excitation; Mirrors; Optical coupling; Optical fiber couplers; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fibers; Stability;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.887672

Filename

887672