Fiber-Specific Electrostriction Response Under Intensity Modulation

• Published in: Journal of lightwave technology 2023-09, Vol.41 (18), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Al-Shaikhli, Fatima, O'Sullivan, Maurice, Hui, Rongqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic propagation; Electrostriction; Fiber nonlinear optics; Maxwellian distribution; Modulation; Nonlinear optics; Optical communication; optical fiber; optical fiber communication; Optical fiber dispersion; optical fiber measurement; Optical fiber networks; optical fiber nonlinearity; Optical fibers; Optical imaging; Parameters; Propagation modes; Signal to noise ratio; Standing waves; Wave propagation
• ISSN: 0733-8724; 1558-2213
• DOI: 10.1109/JLT.2023.3276272

Electrostriction in an optical fiber is introduced by interaction between the forward propagated optical signal and the acoustic standing waves in the radial direction resonating between the center of the core and the cladding circumference of the fiber. The response of electrostriction is dependent on fiber parameters, especially the mode field radius. We demonstrated a novel technique that can be used to characterize fiber properties by means of measuring their electrostriction response under intensity modulation. As the spectral envelope of electrostriction-induced propagation loss is anti-symmetrical, the signal to noise ratio can be significantly increased by subtracting the measured spectrum from its complex conjugate. We show that if the transversal field distribution of the fiber propagation mode is Gaussian, the envelope of the electrostriction-induced loss spectrum closely follows a Maxwellian distribution whose shape can be specified by a single parameter determined by the mode field radius.