Variable optical attenuators with ability to independently control two orthogonal linearly polarized light amplitudes

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    Abstract

    New techniques for controlling the amplitudes of two orthogonal linearly polarized light are presented. One is based on adjusting the DC voltage into a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) to alter the amplitude of the light traveling on the slow axis of a fiber into the modulator with little changes in the fast-axis light amplitude. Another is based on adjusting the input DC voltages of a dual-polarization MZM operating in the reverse direction, which enables independent control of the two input orthogonal linearly polarized light amplitudes. Experimental results demonstrate that more than 30 dB difference in slow- and fast-axis light power can be obtained by controlling an MZM input DC voltage, and over 24 dB independent power adjustment for light traveling on the slow and fast axes into a dual-polarization MZM.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number042301
    Pages (from-to)1-4
    Number of pages4
    JournalChinese Optics Letters
    Volume16
    Issue number4
    Early online date26 Mar 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Apr 2018

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