Abstract

Waveplates are elements that are widely used in the optical system for polarization transformation. In the fiber optical system, it is highly desired to utilize waveplates in the all-fiber form with minimum insertion loss and stable performance. In this paper, we propose an all-fiber waveplate that is made of the helically wound spun highly birefringent (SHB) optical fiber. To function as waveplates, the torsion of the helix should be equal to the inherent polarization rotation of the SHB fiber so that the geometric rotation can match the inherent polarization rotation. Therefore, the phase difference between two orthogonal components of the incident polarized light can increase almost linearly with the fiber length. Because the SHB fiber is insensitive to external perturbations, the proposed waveplate can provide a definite and stable polarization transformation. We develop a model based on the perturbation theory to characterize the polarization evolution of the helically wound SHB fiber. Simulations and experiments have demonstrated the excellent performance of our all-fiber waveplates.

Distributed measurements of external force induced local birefringence in spun highly birefringent optical fibers using polarimetric OFDR

Zhenyang Ding, Chenhuan Wang, Kun Liu, Yantao Liu, Guoliang Xu, Junfeng Jiang, Yamei Guo, and Tiegen Liu
Opt. Express 27(2) 951-964 (2019)

Polarization model for a helically wound optical fiber

Marcus W. Shute, Charles S. Brown, and Jacek Jarzynski
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 14(12) 3251-3261 (1997)

Distributed and polarimetric pressure sensitivity in spun highly birefringent optical fibers

Marta Bernaś, Przemysław Chmielowski, Małgorzata Garbacka, Paweł Mergo, and Gabriela Statkiewicz-Barabach
Opt. Express 31(21) 34600-34608 (2023)

Inherent temperature compensation of fiber-optic current sensors employing spun highly birefringent fiber

G. M. Müller, X. Gu, L. Yang, A. Frank, and K. Bohnert
Opt. Express 24(10) 11164-11173 (2016)

Measurement of birefringence and ellipticity of polarization eigenmodes in spun highly birefringent fibers using spectral interferometry and lateral point-force method

Dominik Kowal, Gabriela Statkiewicz-Barabach, Maciej Napiorkowski, Mariusz Makara, Krzysztof Poturaj, Pawel Mergo, and Waclaw Urbanczyk
Opt. Express 26(26) 34185-34199 (2018)