Spectral measurements of polarimetric sensitivity of holey fiber to strain, temperature, and hydrostatic pressure

Polarimetric sensitivity of a birefringent holey fiber to strain, temperature and hydrostatic pressure is measured in the spectral domain. In an experimental setup comprising a broadband source, a polarizer, a birefringent holey fiber under a variable physical parameter, a birefringent delay line, an analyzer and a compact spectrometer, the spectral interferograms are resolved. These are characterized by the equalization wavelength at which spectral interference fringes have the largest period due to the zero overall group modal birefringence. The spectral interferograms are processed to retrieve the phase as a function of the wavelength. From the retrieved phase functions corresponding to different values of the physical parameter, the polarimetric sensitivity as a function of wavelength is obtained. Using this approach, the polarimetric sensitivity to strain, temperature and hydrostatic pressure is measured.