In-line liquid-crystal microcell polarimeter for high-speed polarization analysis.
We report a type of high-speed microcell polarimeter that utilizes microelectrodes, liquid-crystal films, and ultrathin high-contrast polarizers, all integrated between the tips of two optical fibers. When combined with optimized nematic liquid-crystal materials, this compact (2.5 cm x 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm) device offers excellent optical properties and continuous, high-speed operation at > 2 kHz with moderately low operating voltages. It requires no bulk optical elements, and it shows excellent performance when implemented for the measurement of degree of polarization in 10-Gbit/s test systems. Polarimeters based on this design have promising potential applications in polarization analysis for high-speed optical communication systems.
Acharya
Bharat R
BR
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974, USA.
Madsen
C K
CK
Baldwin
K W
KW
MacHarrie
R A
RA
Rogers
J A
JA
Möller
L
L
Huang
C C
CC
Pindak
R
R