Patent ID: 6342945
Filing Date: 2002-01-29
Classification: G01M

Abstract:
A method of measuring a birefringent property in an optical fiber comprising the steps of:(a) passing incoherent light through a bandpass filter to form probing light; (b) setting a state of polarization for the probing light; (c) passing the probing light with set state of polarization through a fiber under test; (d) detecting a state of polarization for the probing light with set state of polarization after exiting the fiber; (e) from repeated sequences of steps (a) through (d) determining the birefringent property of the fiber under test; (f) twisting the fiber under test to a twist value, wherein the determining step determines the birefringent property value corresponding to the twist value; and, (g) repeating steps (a) through (f) for a plurality of twist values; and (h) selecting a birefringent property representative of the fiber under test from the plurality of birefringent property values.