title: Measurement of modal birefringence in optical waveguides based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
abstract: A method for measuring the birefringence in planar waveguide circuits is theoretically proposed and validated. The method is based on the Mach-Zehnder interference and by measuring the spectral shift due to orthogonal polarization states. The birefringence of a silica waveguide is measured to be 2.33 × 10(-4) at nearby 1550 nm. In addition, the birefringence variations with the wavelength and its dependence on the external stress are investigated with the proposed method experimentally. The results in measuring birefringence demonstrate a high accuracy with the order of 10(-5), a wide dynamic range from 10(-5) to 10(-3), and a characteristic of multi-wavelength evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School for Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Ze Bing
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Sunblence Technologies Co., LTD, Foshan 528251, China.
authors.forename: Zhi Cheng
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Sunblence Technologies Co., LTD, Foshan 528251, China.
authors.forename: Jian Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School for Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Qi Long
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School for Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Wo Bin
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School for Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Xu Guang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Huang