Dispersion-shifted fiber polarization scrambler based on Faraday effect

Author

Prat, J. ; Comellas, J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Signal Theory & Commun., Univ. Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Volume

11

Issue

7

fYear

1999

fDate

7/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

845

Lastpage

847

Abstract

Demonstration of an all-fiber polarization scrambler based on the Faraday effect is carried out. The device has been constructed using dispersion-shifted fiber that has a major tolerance to bends than standard single-mode fiber. Results about the fiber Verdet constant when 1550-nm light is launched are presented. The performance of the constructed device is also shown. Main features are insertion losses as low as 0.4 dB and scrambling frequency up to 20 kHz. Although here we emphasize its application to low-frequency heterodyne detection, the scrambler is applicable to other systems that are polarization dependent. In particular, it would be useful to overcome problems originated by polarization dependent gain in erbium-doped fiber amplified systems.

Keywords

Faraday effect; optical communication equipment; optical fibre amplifiers; optical fibre dispersion; optical fibre losses; optical fibre polarisation; 0.4 dB; 1550 nm; Faraday effect; all-fiber polarization scrambler; dispersion-shifted fiber polarization scrambler; erbium-doped fiber amplified systems; fiber Verdet constant; insertion losses; low-frequency heterodyne detection; major tolerance; polarization dependent; polarization dependent gain; scrambling frequency; standard single-mode fiber; Birefringence; Conductors; Faraday effect; Frequency; Insertion loss; Optical fiber devices; Optical fiber dispersion; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fibers; Optical receivers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.769727

Filename

769727