Full length articleTunable fiber comb filter based on simple waveplate combination and polarization-diversified loop

- Continuous spectrum tuning was realized with only two waveplates in a comb filter.
- Structural and operational simplicity was achieved by reducing one waveplate.
- Three waveplate combination sets allowing continuous spectral tuning were suggested.
- Waveplates' orientation angles required for continuous tuning were fully derived.
- This tuning feature can be applied to optical switching and signal processing.

By incorporating a simple waveplate combination (WPC) set composed of two waveplates, we propose a wavelength-tunable fiber comb filter based on a polarization-diversified loop (PDL). The simple WPC set includes three kinds of waveplate groups such as two quarter-wave plates (QWPs), a set of a QWP and a half-wave plate (HWP), and a set of an HWP and a QWP. The PDL is implemented by making a Sagnac birefringence loop comprised of a four-port polarization beam splitter (PBS), two waveplates, and polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF). In the PDL, one end of PMF is connected to one port of the PBS with its slow axis π/4 (45°) oriented with respect to the horizontal axis of the PBS, and the other end of PMF is concatenated with the waveplates. First, we investigated light polarization conditions required to continuously tune the absolute wavelength location of the proposed filter in terms of input and output states of polarization (SOPs) of a birefringence element, or PMF. Then, three analytic transmittances of the filter were derived for the three WPC sets with arbitrary orientation angles of waveplates through Jones matrix formulation. And eight specific orientation angle sets of two waveplates, which caused phase shifts increasing linearly from 0° to 315° by a step of 45° in a sinusoidal transmittance function, were found for each WPC set. In particular, it has been theoretically proved that an orientation angle set of two waveplates, which can induce an arbitrary phase shift in the sinusoidal transmittance function, always exists for each WPC set. This implies that the comb spectrum of the proposed filter can be continuously tuned within one channel bandwidth by the proper control of the waveplate orientation angles. Finally, the input SOPs of PMF and the wavelength-dependent evolution of its output SOP were examined on the Poincare sphere at the eight specific waveplate angle sets. The relationship between the wavelength tuning and the SOP evolution was also discussed.