Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Aktiengesell Schaft

David Sandel

Reinhold Noe

A polarization scrambler and associated method for polarization scrambling are provided, wherein light is passed through a retarder whose eigen modes and delay vary with time and which is driven with alternating signals at two harmonic frequencies. One exemplary embodiment with an electrooptical wave plate operates with a horizontal or vertical input polarization and supplies output polarizations which vary with time and have uncorrelated normalized Stokes parameters. The polarization scrambler which is produced can be used in devices for detection of polarization mode dispersion.

Polarization scrambler and a method for polarization scrambling

A polarization scrambler, and associated method for polarization scrambling, is provided wherein light is passed through a time-variant retarder. At least after upstream connection or downstream connection of a time-invariant retarder, this time-variant retarder may be represented as a retarder with eigen modes which are uniformly distributed on the Poincar&#xe9; sphere and with a delay of 5&#x3c0;/6. An exemplary embodiment contains only two electro-optical wave plates, which are actuated by alternating signals containing harmonics. The polarization scrambler which is produced is independent of the input polarization of the light and can be used in devices for detection of polarization mode dispersion.

Polarization scrambler, and a method for polarization scrambling

A polarization transformer/PMD compensator chip contains a differential TE-TM phase modulator at its input. The modulator generates a TE-TM phase modulation. The mode converter voltages are driven with driving signals that are free of DC components. DC drift is thereby safely avoided.

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Paderborn, Germany

David Sandel