Complete polarization control in multimode fibers with polarization and mode coupling

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Multimode optical fibers are crucial for communication and imaging.
• Fiber imperfections cause random polarization and mode mixing, hindering polarization-sensitive applications.
• Controlling output polarization is vital for advanced fiber-based technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To achieve complete control over polarization states in all output channels of a multimode fiber.
• To demonstrate that spatial wavefront manipulation can independently control polarization for each fiber mode.
• To establish wavefront shaping as a method for reconfiguring multimode fibers for diverse applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing spatial wavefront shaping of an input laser beam.
• Employing advanced optical techniques to precisely control the laser beam's spatial properties.
• Analyzing the output polarization states across multiple fiber channels.

Main Results:

• Complete control of polarization states for all output channels was achieved.
• Arbitrary polarization states for individual output channels were generated via wavefront shaping.
• Demonstrated the strong coupling between spatial and polarization properties in multimode fibers.

Conclusions:

• Wavefront shaping offers full polarization control in multimode fibers using only spatial degrees of freedom.
• Multimode fibers can be transformed into reconfigurable waveplate matrices.
• This technique enhances capabilities for imaging, communication, and light-matter interaction applications.