Measurement of Polarization Transient Effects Caused by Mechanical Stress on Optical Fiber

Abstract

The paper deals with measurement of polarization transient effects in single mode optical fiber caused by mechanical stress generated by fiber stretcher. An unexpected event like digging near the buried fiber route can be monitored and evaluated. We performed an experimental verification using polarimeter and balanced photodetector for state of polarization analysis. The results show that the analysis based on polarization splitter and a balanced detector gives sufficient and comparable results to the polarimeter. In addition, it is a cost-effective solution and with the FFT it is possible to perform a quick evaluation of the event frequency.