Abstract:

Polarization effect plays a main role in high speed optical communications. The polarization states in fibers must be controlled effectively. The related concepts, the present status of research, the latest progress, and future research trends in the polarization effect controls is presented, including polarization stabilization, demultiplexing for polarization multiplexing system, as well as mitigation or compensation for polarization mode dispersion in fibers. The achievements of these three technologies are also described.

Key words: optical communication system, polarization mode dispersion, polarization stabilization, polarization multiplexing