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Updated: May 18, 2026

Automation of Mode Locking in a Nonlinear Polarization Rotation Fiber Laser through Output Polarization Measurements
Published on: February 28, 2016
A translational polarization rotator
David T Chuss1, Edward J Wollack, Giampaolo Pisano
1NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA. David.T.Chuss@nasa.gov
Abstract:
We explore a free-space polarization modulator in which a variable phase is introduced between the right- and left-handed circular polarization components and used to rotate the linear polarization of the outgoing beam relative to that of the incoming beam. In this device, the polarization states are separated by a circular polarizer that consists of a quarter-wave plate in combination with a wire grid. A movable mirror is positioned behind and parallel to the circular polarizer. As the polarizer-mirror distance is changed, an incident linear polarization will be rotated through an angle that is proportional to the introduced phase delay. We demonstrate a prototype device that modulates Stokes Q and U over a 20% bandwidth, from 77 to 94 GHz.
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