Polarization-insensitive asymmetric four-wave mixing using circularly polarized pumps in a twisted fiber

We show theoretically and experimentally that the polarization sensitivity of asymmetric nondegenerate fiber four-wave mixing can be eliminated by using circularly polarized pump waves in a twisted fiber. By twisting a fiber at 15 turns/m and aligning the pump waves to a circular state of polarization, we successfully reduce the polarization sensitivity from 5.8 dB to 0.9 dB. Although the polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) of the twisted fiber sets the limitation to the conversion bandwidth, its effect is relatively small owing to the small PMD of the twisted fiber. The demonstrated scheme should be a simple and efficient way of realizing all-optical tunable wavelength converters and wavelength-exchange devices without polarization dependence.