Abstract

In this report we demonstrated a method for measuring the beat length of a birefringent fiber. In this method the beat length is determined from the wavelength dependence of the phase difference between two orthogonally polarized modes at the output end of a sample fiber. In addition to the mode hopping of the laser diode’s optical wavelength due to the temperature variation, we have also observed the phase hopping of the output light polarization at the end face of the birefringent fiber. It is a simple and precise method to determine the birefringence magnitude of anisotropic materials in an optics laboratory course.

© 2007 Optical Society of America