Measurements of polarization cross-coupling in a tension-coiled polarization-preserving fiber by optical coherence domain polarimetry

Measurements of polarization cross-coupling in a polarization-maintaining fiber (3M FS-PM-6621) under two coiling situations are carried out by optical coherence domain polarimetry. In the first situation, it is coiled around a 25.4 mm diameter piezoelectric tube and the applied voltage is increased from 0 to 900 V. In the second, the fiber is tension-coiled around a 24.6 mm diameter passive drum and the tension increased from 0 to 3.74 N. Measured polarization cross-coupling along the fiber increases 25-30 dB in the coiled region and does not show significant change as voltage or tension is increased in each case.