A broad-band single polarization optical fiber |
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Authors: | Messerly M.J. Onstott J.R. Mikkelson R.C. |
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Affiliation: | 3M Fiber Opt. Lab., St. Paul, MN; |
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Abstract: | The authors report on a single-mode optical fiber that transmits one and only one polarization state of the fundamental mode over a broad wavelength band (13%). The good broadband performance is attributed to the fiber's refractive-index profile, which mathematically allows only one polarization state to cutoff. The authors discuss general design principles and show that the mode field diameter is a qualitative indicator of the fiber's performance. The fiber's guided polarization state is similar to the fundamental mode of a step-index fiber in its low attenuation, 5.5 dB/km, and small mode diameter, 5.8 μm (both measurements at 840 nm). Most important, the fiber shows a broad single polarization band, 13%, a feature well described by the change in mode field diameter with wavelength of an ideal, circularly symmetry, W -profile fiber |
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