Method of measuring optical switch crosstalk attenuation considering polarization variation

Abstract

This paper describes a simple method for measuring the crosstalk attenuation of optical switches that takes into account the polarization variation of incident light. The method involves the use of a laminated film polarizer (LAMIPOL) and a polarization-maintaining fiber (PANDA). Crosstalk attenuation of 2/spl times/2 liquid-crystal optical switches for 1.3 /spl mu/m single-mode fiber is measured using the proposed method and then conventionally with a polarization controller. The similarity of the results confirms the practicality of the proposed method. >