Title :
Polarization Stabilization in Optical Communications Systems
Author :
Martinelli, Mario ; Martelli, Paolo ; Pietralunga, Silvia Maria
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Elettronica ed Informazione, Politecnico di Milano, Milan
Abstract :
The control of the state of polarization (SOP) of light remains one of the open issues in optical communications. In particular, the achievement of a stabilization of the SOP can find many applications in advanced optical communication systems: from the mitigation of polarization-mode dispersion to the development of novel multilevel modulation formats. In this paper, theoretical and experimental aspects of polarization stabilization are dealt with, and a novel algorithm to overcome the issues related to the practical availability of finite-range birefringent components and to solve the requirement for endless stabilization is also presented. A complete analysis of the control algorithm, based on the Jones matrix formalism, is also presented. The practical implementation of the polarization stabilizer is discussed, and experimental demonstrations based on liquid crystal and magnetooptical retarders are shown
Keywords :
birefringence; liquid crystal devices; magneto-optical devices; matrix algebra; optical fibre communication; optical fibre dispersion; optical fibre polarisation; optical modulation; optical retarders; Jones matrix formalism; birefringence; liquid crystal; magnetooptical retarders; modulation formats; optical communications; polarization state stabilization; polarization-mode dispersion; Algorithm design and analysis; Birefringence; Communication system control; Lighting control; Magnetic analysis; Modulation; Optical control; Optical fiber communication; Optical polarization; Polarization mode dispersion; Optical communications; optical polarization; polarization control and stabilization;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2006.884228
