Characterization of Electrostriction Nonlinearity in a Standard Single-Mode Fiber Based on Coherent Detection and Cross-Phase Modulation

The electrostriction nonlinearity in a standard single mode fiber is measured by cross-phase modulation (XPM) between pump and probe. Novel use of a coherent homodyne receiver allows measurement of in-phase and quadrature components of the probe field, eliminating the need for an optical interferometer. The Kerr effect (
$\gamma _{k}$
) and frequency-dependent electrostriction
$(\gamma _{e})$
nonlinear parameters are characterized experimentally, and
$\gamma _{e}$
is found to be approximately one third of
$\gamma _{k}$
at the highest peak resonance frequency. The joint action of
$\gamma _{k}$
and
$\gamma _{e}$
also introduces a polarization dependence of the electrostrictive signal when the pump and the probe are not copolarized.