A new experimental approach to second-order polarization mode dispersion analysis for optical communications systems

This article analyzes the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers and presents a new approach for its measurement. This approach permits the combined analysis of the first-order PMD and the second-order polarization mode dispersion (SOPMD) in optical systems for different values of temperature. The relation between SOPMD and the differential group delay (DGD) in a single-mode fiber is discussed. The analysis is based on time/wavelength and temperature variations changing/impacting PMD and DGD measured values. We present long-term statistical characteristics of SOPMD acquired by a PMD emulator constructed with some pieces of high birefringence fiber, and the correlation between the SOPMD, depolarization (Depol) and polarization-dependent chromatic dispersion (PCD) was investigated. A new interpretation of SOPMD is presented to analyze the problem of the temperature spectral stability. The actual techniques for SOPMD determination, consequently Depol and PCD, use the variation with time and/or wavelength. In some studies, the results obtained for SOPMD are correlated to first-order PMD. We demonstrate experimentally that the temperature is an important factor for the correlation between SOPMD and PMD and cannot be neglected in the optimization of high-speed optical communications links.