Fibercore unveils polarization maintaining fibers at OFC 2014

UK specialty fiber developer Fibercore has launched two additions to its Telecoms PM Fiber line at in Booth 1202 at OFC 2014 in San Francisco.

The new fibers are enhanced variants of the company’s HB980T(6.6/125) and HB1250T(9/125). Fibercore says the new designs maximize the benefit of the fibers’ Bow-Tie structure to deliver a 40% increase in birefringence versus more conventional PM fibers. The increase in birefringence means a shorter beat-length (Lp) that enables polarization extinction ratios (PERs) and performance over temperature, shock, and vibration that Fibercore describes as “in a class of its own.”

Typical applications for the new fibers include PM pigtails on pump lasers for EDFAs, Raman amplifiers, and Lyot depolarisers. Fibercore says the increased birefringence will enhance performance and reduce component costs by enabling a shorter length of fiber to be used in these applications.

At 1310-nm wavelengths, the fiber also applies to fiber lasers, current sensors, and biomedical technologies such as optical coherence tomography (OCT).

“Fibercore’s new telecoms fibers, HB980T(6.6/125) and HB1250T(9/125), benefit from the Bow-Tie structure’s fundamental and inherent ability to create more birefringence than any other fiber design. This allows extremely short beat lengths to be achieved which ultimately results in outstanding PER performance and opens up design options that are not possible with traditional PANDA telecoms fibers,” said Fibercore Business Development Manager Dr. Andy Gillooly.

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