Alignment of the fast axis of the polarization-maintaining fiber optic patch cord
The polarization axis of a fiber is aligned with the connector key by rotating either the connector frame or the fiber itself until the polarization axis is in line with keyway of the connector. Polarization Maintaining fibers work by inducing a difference in the speed of light in the two perpendicular polarizations passing through the fiber. Image of the cross section of a polarization-maintaining optical fiber patch cord, taken with an illuminated microscopic viewer called a fiberscope. The two small, eye-like circles are the stress rods and the tiny circle between them is the core. The defined interface between a laser source and the more sensitive en-vironment of the measurement setup provides the physical separation that enables a mechanical and thermal de-coupling, suppressing mutually nega-tive effects.
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