Abstract
Polarization variations in optical fibers are complex and would severely affect the performances of polarization-sensitive signal distribution systems. Owing to advances in experimental techniques and theoretical tools, we observe the effect of polarization variations in the optical fibers and we demonstrate that polarization mode dispersion (PMD) dominates the free-running fiber noise. Ultrahigh correlation, over 99%, is found between the phase fluctuation induced by polarization variation and the temperature fluctuation impacted on the optical fibers. By means of a polarization scrambling technique, the polarization variations in the optical fiber are averaged and the phase perturbations are minimized. It provides a promising solution for suppressing the random disturbances of polarization in the fiber-based optical frequency transfer system and quantum key distribution (QKD) system.
Highlights
T HE physics of optical fibers has been explored in depth because of its importance for fiber-optic communication
We show the physical process of polarization mode dispersion supported by the direct recording of unitary Stokes parameters representing the output state of polarization (SOP) after propagation
When the phase is translated into a time error, the free running propagation delay fluctuations are at the level of
Summary
T HE physics of optical fibers has been explored in depth because of its importance for fiber-optic communication. We are further able to reduce the sensitivity to this polarization effect by scrambling the polarization state of the optical frequency signal before it injects into fiber link without altering the optical detection, thereby improving the resilience of fiber links to their environmental variations The effectiveness of this polarization scrambling technology is confirmed for the first time in optical frequency domain, for uncompensated and compensated 2-fiber links operated uni-directionally, solve practical limitations of frequency transfer on unidirectional architectures that enables very attractive possibilities in respect of future implementation on active telecommunication networks. It provides a promising solution for removing the random disturbances of polarization in the QKD system
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