Characteristics of PM Fiber Patch Cords

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 If
the polarization of the input light is not aligned with the stress direction in
the fiber, the output light will vary between linear and circular polarization
(and generally will be elliptically polarized). And the exact polarization will
also be sensitive to variations in temperature and stress in the fiber. The
light shall be coupled at the fiber entrance parallel to the slow axis or to
the fast axis, then the maintaining of the polarization is therefore possible.
It is important to make sure that the polarization of the input light is
maintained. PM fiber patch cords maintain the existing polarization of
linearly-polarized light that is launched into the fiber with the correct
orientation. PM fiber patch cords also feature low insertion loss, high extinction
ratio, high return loss, excellent changeability over a wide wavelength range
and excellent environmental stability and reliability.

 

Types
of PM Fiber Patch Cords

 

There
are a wide variety of PM
fiber patch cords available that support different data rates and suit
various connector types. According to different criteria, PM fiber patch cords
can be categorized into various types. The following is some detailed
information about types of PM fiber patch cords based on 4 different criteria:

 

Classification
by connector type―PM fiber patch cords are capped at both ends with fiber
connectors. FC, SC, LC and ST are the commonly used connector types for PM
fiber termination. According to the connectors on the both ends, there are many
different kinds of PM fiber patch cords, such as LC-FC, SC-FC, or FC-FC PM
fiber patch cords.

 

Classification
by fiber type―PM fiber patch cords are built with polarization maintaining
fiber. To ensure the polarization of both the input and output light in a PM
fiber, several different shapes of rod are used, and the resulting fiber is
sold under brand names such as “Panda” and “Bow-tie”. With
different PM fiber, there are corresponding PM fiber patch cords, such as Panda
PM fiber patch cords and Bow-tie PM fiber patch cords.

 

Classification
by cable type―PM fiber patch cords can also be categorized according to the
cable types. There are mainly three kinds of cable types, 250um bare fiber,
900um loose tube jacket and 3mm loose tube jacket. So based on the cable types,
there are 3 kinds of PM fiber patch cords.

 

Classification
by fiber length―The standard length is 1 meter. It can vary for special
requirements. The length of PM fiber patch cords can be custom made.

 

Applications
of PM Fiber Patch Cords

 

PM
fiber patch cords are often used in polarization sensitive fiber optical
systems for transmission of light that requires the PM state to be maintained.
PM optical patch cord is a special optical component using the properties of
optical fibers specially manufactured so that its transmission parameters can
support a particular application. They have a large number of uses, including
high-data-rate communications systems, polarization sensitive components, and
interferometric sensors. They are also widely used in PM fiber amplifiers,
fiber lasers, high speed communication systems, testing equipment and
instrumentation applications. Area of use of PM fiber patch cords is very broad
and includes equipment such as instrumentation, spectroscopy, aerospace,
medical diagnostics and many other industrial applications.