Polarimeter optical spectrum analyzer

TL;DR

This paper introduces a combined polarimeter and optical spectrum analyzer (POSA) that enables high-resolution polarization analysis, applied to study magneto-optical effects in a ferrimagnetic modulator and nonlinear processes in a cryogenic fiber laser.

Contribution

The integration of a coherent spectrum analyzer with a rotating quarter wave plate polarimeter offers high spectral resolution for polarization studies, demonstrated on two advanced optical systems.

Findings

Identified magneto-optical mechanisms in ferrimagnetic sphere resonators.

Analyzed nonlinear processes in cryogenic fiber loop lasers.

Provided optimization guidelines for optical system performance.

Abstract

A coherent optical spectrum analyzer is integrated with a rotating quarter wave plate polarimeter. The combined polarimeter optical spectrum analyzer (POSA) allows the extraction of the state of polarization with high spectral resolution. POSA is used in this work to study two optical systems. The first is an optical modulator based on a ferrimagnetic sphere resonator. POSA is employed to explore the underlying magneto-optical mechanism responsible for modulation sideband asymmetry. The second system under study is a cryogenic fiber loop laser, which produces an unequally spaced optical comb. Polarization measurements provide insights on the nonlinear processes responsible for comb creation. Characterizations extracted from POSA data provide guidelines for performance optimization of applications based on these systems under study.