High-resolution wavemeter based on polarization modulation of fiber speckles

Abstract

For speckle pattern-based wavemeters or spectrometers, the intermodal and the chromatic dispersion of the diffusion waveguide are key factors in determining the wavelength resolution. In this study, we propose a new mechanism to modulate the fiber speckles aside from the dispersion related effect. The polarization modulation is introduced in a rectangular core fiber (RCF) by using an in-line polarization rotator (IPR). The IPR can rotate the polarization angle at different wavelengths. Interestingly, it is observed that the modulated speckle patterns appear periodically similar, and they present more variations when compared to unmodulated ones. The theoretical simulation indicates that the polarization exerts an influence on the fiber speckles by modulating the mode coupling coefficients when light is coupled into the RCF. In the demonstration experiment, we first built a precise laser frequency tuning system based on an electro-optic modulator and a microwave source. By comparing the recorded speckles with and without polarization modulation, the former speckles have lower correlations, which are evaluated using the Arc Cosine Similarity algorithm. Reconstructing the spectrum of speckles, the smallest detectable wavelength that can be detected with polarization modulation is 0.2 fm. The experimental results prove that the polarization modulation is a convenient and effective method to enhance the speckle’s wavelength sensitivity. In addition, this study paves a new way to design high-resolution wavemeters with shorter, more compact optical waveguides.