Abstract

Polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) is a major impairment for the achievement of ultra-high capacity transmission over installed legacy optical fibers. For this purpose, several optical and electronic adaptive PMD compensation schemes are proposed in the bibliography.^1–7 All aforementioned techniques comprise a form of PMD monitoring device, which generates an error signal for driving the control unit of the adaptive PMD compensator. Frequency-selective polarimeters, i.e., devices which can measure the variation of Stokes parameters as a function of frequency,^6,8,9 are especially attractive candidates for PMD monitoring in higher-order PMD compensators because frequency-resolved Stokes parameters can provide, at least in principle, information about all PMD orders.

© 2002 Optical Society of America