A broadband optical fiber based inline polarizer for telecom wavelength range

A broadband optical fiber based inline polarizer (OFIP) for telecom wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems is fabricated by coating of Al and Au layers on opposite sides of an etched multimode fiber. We demonstrated that the cladding residual thickness δ = 0 μm optimizes the OFIP design for the maximum extinction ratio (ER) of 17.1 dB/cm, at both telecom wavelengths of 1550 nm and 1310 nm. In addition to the broadband characteristics of this OFIP, the optimal ER value which is identical for both telecom regimes makes our OFIP even more desirable for WDM systems. Finally, our OFIP is very cheap and miniaturized which also makes it very attractive in commercialization point of view.