Measurement of the Verdet Constant of Polarization-Maintaining Air-Core Photonic Bandgap Fiber

We propose a method based on the white-light interference technique for measuring the Verdet constant of a polarization-maintaining air-core photonic bandgap fiber (PM-PBF). The experimental results show that the Verdet constant of the PM-PBF is ~3.3 mrad/T/m for the broadband light with a spectral width of ~38 nm and a mean wavelength of ~1550 nm, which is ~124 times less than that of a conventional stress-induced birefringent fibers called PANDA fibers (~0.41 rad/T/m for the same broad-spectrum light). The results indicate that the nonreciprocal error induced by the Faraday effect in a fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) made of the PM-PBF is theoretically ~25 times less than that of a conventional FOG made of the PANDA fiber when other conditions, such as the fiber twist, fiber coil area, and so on, are the same.