Fibercore launches new polarization maintaining fiber with 40% increase in birefringence

British specialty fiber development company Fibercore announced at OFC 2014 that two new products
have been added to its telecom polarization preservation fiber product line.

The two new products are enhancements to the company's
original HB980T (6.
6/125) and HB1250T (9/125).
According to Fibercore, the new design maximizes the butterfly structure of the fiber, achieving 40% more birefringence
than traditional polarization maintaining fiber.
The increase in birefringence means shorter beat lengths, resulting in unprecedented levels of polarization extinction ratio and performance over temperature, shock and vibration
.

Typical applications for the new fibers include polarization maintaining pigtails on pump lasers for EDFA, Raman amplifiers, and Lyot-type fiber depolarizers
.
Fibercore says that the increase in birefringence can reduce the required fiber length, thereby enhancing performance and reducing device cost
.