Fiber optic Sagnac interferometer as polarimetric sensor using a nonpolarized and a broadband source

The principle of an interferometric single-mode fiber optic sensor using birefringent components and a broadband source is described. This device is sensitive to the magnetic field variation or to the mechanical rotations of its components. In this paper, we show that only one additional birefringent element is needed to make this fiber optic sensor. Besides, this device can be used for characterizing optical fibers or any birefringent element inside the Sagnac.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.