Residual stress profiles in optical fibers determined by the two-waveplate-compensator method

Stress-induced birefringence impacts the performance of many optical devices. Techniques are needed to measure accurately stress profiles in optical fibers. The two-waveplate-compensator (TWC) method allows the accurate measurement of small retardations. The full-field TWC method is applied here to measure the two-dimensional retardation distribution of single-mode fibers with a spatial resolution of 0.45 μm and a sensitivity of 0.07 nm. Axial stress profiles are hence determined along the axis of the fiber. The stress profiles determined with the TWC method are in good agreement with profiles previously reported in the literature while containing less noise and resolving more details.