Zhangjun Yu

Quasi-distributed birefringence dispersion measurement for polarization maintain device with high accuracy based on white light interferometry

A white light temporal interferometric technique for measurement of the quasi-distributed birefringence dispersion (BD) in a polarization maintain (PM) device with high accuracy based on weighted least square (WLS) method is presented. It is verified theoretically and experimentally that the accuracy of WLS method and the conventional ordinary least square (OLS) method both are proportional to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of interferogram, whereas the WLS method holds a higher scaling factor because it is more suitable for heteroscedastic model that has unequal error variance. The experiment results show a repeatability of ~4.6 × 10(-5) ps/nm @ 1550 nm with WLS method for 100 sets of data, and ~4.3 × 10(-4) ps/nm with OLS method, for an interferogram with SNR of 30 dB. Besides, WLS method without iterative operation is carried out by using power spectrum of interferogram as weight value. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated by distinguishing the quasi-distributed BD of every part for a packaged Y-waveguide with two 1m-long PM pigtails.

High-Order Interference Effect Introduced by Polarization Mode Coupling in Polarization—Maintaining Fiber and Its Identification

The high-order interference (HOI)—The interferogram introduced by polarization mode couplings (PMC) of multiple perturbations—Will cause misjudgment of the realistic coupling points in polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) which is tested with a white light interferometer (WLI) with large dynamic range. We present an optical path tracking (OPT) method for simplifying the analysis of HOI, and demonstrate the enhancement and suppression conditions for the HOIs. A strategy is proposed to readily identify HOI by altering the spliced angle between polarizers’ pigtails and the PMF under test. Moreover, a PMF experiment with two perturbation points, for simplicity, is given as an example. As a result, all the characteristic interferograms including HOIs can be distinguished through just four measurements. Utilizing this identification method, we can estimate the realistic coupling points in PMFs and distinguish them from the interference signals including numerous HOIs.

Dynamic range beyond 100 dB for polarization mode coupling measurement based on white light interferometer.

This paper presents a method to improve the dynamic range of white light interferometer (WLI) based polarization mode coupling (PMC) measurement system beyond 100 dB. The limitation of interference beat noise is overcame by analyzing in detail the inherent noises that have impacts on the detection sensitivity. An improved PMC measurement system and method are proposed for testing ultra-high polarization extinction ratio (PER) of polarization-related devices. The method can improve dynamic range dramatically through eliminating interference beat noise and enhancing the tested interference intensity simultaneously, which are verified theoretically and experimentally. In addition, a Y-junction with ~80 dB PER of LiNbO3 chip corresponding to a weak signal is tested as an application example. The results demonstrate that the high PER interferogram can be identified clearly and steadily with standard deviation 0.9 dB (3σ) @ ~80 dB. This proposed method is highly beneficial in fabrication and evaluation for polarization devices with ultra-high PER.

Polarization extinction ratio measurement for multi-functional integrated optic chip against birefringence dispersion and noise

We present a method for measuring polarization extinction ratio (PER) of multi-functional integrated optic chip (MFIOC) based on White light interferometry (WLI) against birefringence dispersion (BD) and noise. Instead of reading peak value, this method obtains PER via calculating the energy of the interferogram, which is theoretically proved that is independent of BD and proportional to the square of its peak value. In addition, the results of simulation demonstrate the method has an advantage of noise robustness versus the conventional peak value method. Eventually, experiment results of 100 measurements for a MFIOC are agree with the theory and simulation results.

Symmetry evaluation for an interferometric fiber optic gyro coil utilizing a bidirectional distributed polarization measurement system

We propose a dual-channel measurement system for evaluating the optical path symmetry of an interferometric fiber optic gyro (IFOG) coil. Utilizing a bidirectional distributed polarization measurement system, the forward and backward transmission performances of an IFOG coil are characterized simultaneously by just a one-time measurement. The simple but practical configuration is composed of a bidirectional Mach-Zehnder interferometer and multichannel transmission devices connected to the IFOG coil under test. The static and dynamic temperature results of the IFOG coil reveal that its polarization-related symmetric properties can be effectively obtained with high accuracy. The optical path symmetry investigation is highly beneficial in monitoring and improving the winding technology of an IFOG coil and reducing the nonreciprocal effect of an IFOG.

High-order polarization mode crosstalk effect: a calibration scheme of white light-based optical coherence domain polarimetry

We propose a calibration scheme of the white light interferometer based optical coherence domain polarimetry (OCDP), which could be used to measure the ultra-weak polarization mode crosstalk (PMC) or the ultra-high polarization extinction ratio (PER) of different polarization optical devices. The calibration depends on the first and second order PMC effect of different polarization devices in series. The first and second PMCs between 0 and -90dB, established by five pieces of polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) and a Y-waveguide, is used to prove its feasibility.

Measurement for polarization mode dispersion of LiNbO3 integrated waveguide modulator used white light interferometry

We present a method to measure the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) of the LiNbO3 multifunctional integrated waveguide modulator (MFIWM) which is consist of a Y-waveguide, two extended polarization maintaining (PM) fibers, lead-in PM pigtail and lead-out PM pigtail. This method is based on an all-fiber time-domain scanning white light interferometer and utilizes fast Fourier transform (FFT) technology to obtain interferometric phase. The PMD of each part of MFIWM was measured and distinguished accurately. It’s demonstrated that, the PMD of Y-waveguide is 13.5 ps/nm/km@1555nm which is approximately 40~160 times of the PMD of PM fibers in the MFIWM under test.

A calibration scheme of optical path correlator scan speed and position based 3×3 coupler and dual Mach-Zehnder interferometer

This paper proposed a calibration scheme of optical path correlator(OPC) for optical coherence domain polarimeter (OCDP), the calibration scheme employs a dual Mach-Zehnder interferometers multiplexing one OPC by dual wavelength wave division multiplexer, one interferometer as target interferometer is used to sensing measurement, another interferometer with 3×3 coupler as reference interferometer is used for OPC scan speed and positon calibration to improve the target interferometer signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and interference envelope positioning accuracy, this calibration scheme is used OCDP to measure polarization crosstalk, the experimental results show that SNR is achieved 95dB and the polarization crosstalk position accuracy is achieved submicron.

A dual channel method for simultaneous evaluation in two branches of a multi-functional integrated optic chip

A method of simultaneous evaluation for two branches of a multi-functional integrated optic chip (MFIOC) with a dual channel system is proposed. The difference between the two branches of the MFIOC can be tested simultaneously with a high precision. In the system, the chip is used as a 1×2 splitter and its two branches are combined by a 2×2 coupler. The characteristic peaks of the two branches are distinguished by selecting proper length of the extended fibers which connected to each polarization-maintaining (PM) pigtails. Temperature responses of the two branches of the MFIOC are experimented. Results show that the dual channel system can simultaneously measure the characteristics of the two branches of MFIOC with resolution of over -85 dB and dynamic range of 85dB.