Emulation of polarization fluctuations in glass fibers caused by lightning strikes

Lightning strikes cause fast polarization transients and data loss in coherent fiberoptic transmission systems. Using a polarization transformer made of LiNbO3 we emulate polarization transients of up to 20 Mrad/s speed with 20 mus repetition interval. A polarimeter with 115 MHz bandwidth serves for measurement of the retarder properties and polarization rotation. Polarization rotation is endless, limited only by available speed and time, not in absolute value. The emulator enables lightning strike tolerance testing of coherent receivers in minimum time.