Displaying SOP-Dependent System Parameters on the Surface of the Poincaré Sphere by Means of Colour Grading

Abstract:
In order to comprehend intuitively the polarization depending parameters in optical transmission systems or components the authors propose to introduce a colour grading or a gray scaling on the surface of the Poincaré sphere. Depending on the application the intensity of transmitted or reflected light can be related to its state of polarization (SOP). Hence at a first glance the complete polarization depending losses (PDL) or gain (PDG) can be recognized. A splitting e.g. into seperate Stokes parameters is not necessary. The display format is not limited to polarization depending light intensities. Parameters also can be the bit error rate in an optical transmission system or the actual temperature of a device which is exposed to high light power. Examples are given for polarization depending losses of a dual output Mach-Zehnder modulator, for the transmission through and reflection from an optical interface with different refraction indices calculated by the Fresnel equations and for an optical device with gain.