Automated measurement of polarization mode dispersion using Jones matrix eigenanalysis

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD), which can limit the bandwidth of optical transmission links, has been difficult to measure in a manner independent of human judgment, leading to difficulties in automating the measurement. It is shown that PMD in any linear, time-invariant network can be completely characterized by eigenanalysis of Jones matrices measured at a series of discrete wavelengths, even for networks exhibiting polarization-dependent loss. A fast, automated system using a tunable laser and an accurate, real-time polarimeter affords the temporal accuracy of approximately 2% down to a limit of several femtoseconds, as demonstrated by comparison with other techniques and comparison with known samples. Both the principal states of polarization and the group delay difference were measured as a function of optical frequency.<>