Birefringence assessment of single-mode optical fibers

Using the Poincare sphere and wavelength scanning it is possible to determine if the fiber birefringence corresponds to that of a linear, circular or elliptical retarder, as well as to obtain an approximate measurement of the polarization beatlength. This method is useful for low birefringence single-mode fibers. It is applied to erbium-doped fibers. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.