Fiber characterization for application in heterodyne laser interferometry with nanometer uncertainty, part I: polarization state measurements

New measurement techniques and methods for characterizing the quality of optical fibers are presented. The fibers are to be used in a single-fiber-fed heterodyne laser interferometer with nanometer uncertainty. The polarization-mixing properties of several different polarization-maintaining fiber types, as well as the effects of fiber lengths on high-precision length measurements, is investigated for the first time. Mixing ratio and polarization orthogonality were measured using three different methods. The measured mixing ratios varied between 1: 100 and 1: 1650 (intensity). Also the influence of the fiber assembly on the polarization-mixing properties is shown. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.