Lapped polarization-maintaining fiber resonator

The passive resonator approach to fiber opt sensing has benefitted from recent advances in fiber High performance couplers, spliceless resonators' ic rotation components. , and long coherence length laser diodes have been described. Polarization maintaining components and 1.3 & 1.55 urn wavelength components are being made, and one company is selling high finesse resonators commercially2. This paper describes lapped spliceless optically-contact-bonded resonators and their performance. These resonators have polarization crosstalk of <-20 dB and < 70 kHz linewidth with high modulation depth. The resonators and couplers described herein are fabricated using a technique similar to the lapped block method developed by Bergh et. a13. Two lapped blocks on opposite ends of a single fiber make a spliceless resonator when coupled together. Elliptical stress member polarization-maintaining fiber that is optimized for 1.3 urn wavelength is used in all of the components discussed here. The selection of fiber type, fiber adhesive, lapping compound, and other factors are important to achieve high yield and performance.