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February, 2002 www.acterna.com Jerome Laferriere

Strategic Marketing Manager
Tel : +33 477478914
Fax: +33477478970
E-mail: jerome.laferriere@acterna.com

Polarization mode dispersion requirements

The need for polarization mode dispersion (PMD) testing in
the field: different technologies are available

Executive summary This paper discusses one particular

The pressures imposed by a competi- aspect of the evolving requirements
tive market entail that service providers in system turn-up, namely, the need
upgrade and maintain their networks for polarization mode dispersion
continuously to ensure that they are (PMD) testing, which is an important
capable of delivering higher-speed, measurement for very high bit rate
higher-quality applications and servic- transmission (above 10 Gbps), but
es to customers. This creates a need to one of the most difficult parameters
verify and make sure that the network’s to test due to its sensitivity to a number
fiber infrastructure and equipment can of environmental constraints.
meet exacting performance standards
and operate reliably. As a result of the
emergence of DWDM networks, some
important changes were made in the
optical fiber characterization and
system turn-up. Consequently new
test tools and procedures were
needed. These are explained in the
Acterna white papers: “1625nm
requirements”, “Chromatic dispersion
requirements”, and “Optical spectrum
analyzer methods”.
Polarization mode
dispersion definition
PMD is caused by the birefringence
of the fiber itself, which is based on
the different indexes of two orthogo-
nally polarized modes that the fiber
generates from the transmitted
signal, and which creates a time delay
between the two modes (also called
mean differential group delay or DGD).
The main causes of this birefringence
are noncircularities of the fiber itself
and external stress on the fiber
(macro-bending, micro-bending,
twist, temperature variations).
The mean DGD causes the transmis-
sion pulse to broaden when travelling
along the fiber, generating distortion
and increasing bit-error-rate ratio (BER)
of the optical system. Consequently,
this creates a distance link limit for a
given transmission bit rate (please see
figure 1 below).
ps/(nm.km)). The second order PMD
gives the delay created by the PMD
variation linked to the wavelength,
and therefore is relevant for DWDM
systems. Second order PMD has to be
added to chromatic dispersion figures,
and therefore limits the link distance.
As PMD coefficients take into account
the fiber link distance (which may be
different from the cable distance, due
to the helix factor), it is important to
get the fiber link distance accurate,
otherwise this makes the measure-
ments unreliable.
Fiber and cable manufacturers are
specifyingtheirfiberswith0.5ps/km1/2
maximum, according the ITU-T recom-
mendations. Current fibers are easily
better than 0.2 ps/km1/2. As PMD is a
statistical value which is also sensitive
to temperature, it is recommended to
carry out different measurements at
different time intervals with different
room temperatures. Another recom-
mendation is to use the average of
multiple measurements at a given
temperature to get even more
accurate results.
When conducting the test, the consid-
ered mode coupling should be known,
as this may have an important impact
on the results, especially in the field.
In theory, there should be a weak
mode coupling for components and
short fiber links (up to a few hundred
meters), and a strong mode coupling
for long fiber links. For example, with
a Fourier transform, a weak mode
coupling can be distinguished if there
is one main peak on the spectrum.
Different organizations have provided
documents dealing with PMD
measurements (see table below).

Each wavelength, for a given time

and condition, has its absolute DGD. Standards Description
As this varies constantly, a preferred IEC/TS 61941 Technical specifications for polarization mode dispersion measurement techniques
value is the mean DGD, which is the for single-mode optical fibers
GR-2947-CORE Generic requirements for portable polarization mode dispersion (PMD) test sets
PMD delay. The polarization mode TIA/EIA FOTP-113 Polarization mode dispersion measurement for single-mode optical fibers by
dispersion is defined with up to four the fixed analyzer method
main parameters: mean differential TIA/EIA FOTP-122 Polarization mode dispersion measurement for single-mode optical fibers by
group delay (mean DGD or PMD Jones Matrix Eigenanalysis
TIA/EIA FOTP-124 Polarization mode dispersion measurement for single-mode optical fibers by
delay, in ps), PMD coefficient (PMD,
interferometric method
in ps/km1/2), second order PMD TIA/EIA TSB 107 Guideline for the statistical specification of polarization mode dispersion on
delay (DGD2 in ps/nm) and second optical fiber cables
order PMD coefficient (PMD2, in

SM fiber span
DGD

V2

V1

figure 1
2
 PMD methods
There are different ways of measuring
PMD in the field. Only three will be
described here. Other methods exist,
but they are more for production/lab
purposes (the Jones Matrix Eigen-
analysis method standardized by
the TIA/EIA FOTP-122, the Poincaré
Sphere method newly approved by
international standards, or the State
of Polarization method, or modulation
phase shift, or pulse delay, or time
delay, or even base-band curve fit).
Broadband source
3
A. Simple PMD calculation for
known fibers
Principle
Operators who already know their
fibers, can get the PMD of their link
easily by just adding together the
square root of the values of each
section of the corresponding link.
As PMD does vary along time and
from manufacturing to installation,
this simple method is applicable but
not so accurate.
Benefits and limits
It requires that the operator knows the
fiber characteristics of the networks.
This is mainly applicable for new
fibers, and if the PMD results are far
from the limits.
B. PMD with the interferometric
method
Equipment
This method requires the following:
a broadband polarized source and an
interferometer (Mach-Zehnder or
Michelson). This is standardized by
the FOTP-124 TIA/EIA “Polarization
mode dispersion measurement for
single-mode optical fibers by inter-
ferometric method” (please see
figure 2 below).
DUT
Polarizer
figure 2
Principle
For fiber links (usually strong mode
coupling), the result is an interfero-
gram with random phases, and the
mean DGD value is determined from
its Gaussian curve fit.
Benefits and limits
The upper measurement limit will be
defined by the scan range of the
adjustable arm of the interferometer.
The scan range must be three times
larger than the mean DGD value.
The lower limit will be defined by
the spectral width of the source
and by the orthogonality of the
interferometer arms.
Care must be taken when using pigtails
and launch cables, as interference
effects due to reflections should be
avoided. For this reason, it is preferred
to use index matching materials or
angled cleaves. The instrument itself
is quite sensitive to shock, vibration
and drop tests. It is also not so accurate
when measuring intermediate coupling
regimes (neither strong nor weak
mode coupling).
Polarizer Interferometer
C. PMD with the fixed analyzer method
(also known as wavelength scanning)
Equipment
This method requires the following:
a broadband polarized source and a
polarized (variable) optical spectrum
analyzer (OSA). This is standardized
by the TIA/EIA FOTP-113 “Polarization
mode dispersion measurement for
single-mode optical fibers by the
fixed analyzer method” (please see
figure 3 below).
Principle
From the spectrum, the mean period of
the intensity modulation is measured.
This is realized by counting the number
of extrema (that is, measuring the
rate at which the state of polarization
changes as wavelength changes), in
order to give a mean DGD. Alterna-
tively, a Fourier transform into a time
distribution will also give a graph,
and the mean DGD value is determined
from its Gaussian curve fit (for fiber
links with strong mode coupling). It is
not necessary to modify the polariza-
tion angle of the analyzer when high
mode coupling is used. For weak
mode coupling, an angle could be
selected to get the maximum
amplitude of the oscillations.
Benefits and limits
The upper measurement limit will be
defined by the resolution of the OSA.
The lower limit will be defined by the
wavelength range of the source and
the wavelength range of the OSA.
The instrument is not sensitive to
shock, vibration and drop tests if
the OSA is realized with Fabry-Perot
technology (other technologies are
more sensitive).
Intercomparison between methods
Intercomparison results have been
made by various international
organizations, and at the present time,
inter-laboratory measurements indi-
cate that there is an agreement of plus
or minus 10 percent to plus or minus
20 percent between all the different
methods. This is well described in the
TIA/EIA PMD documents. There is fairly
good statistical agreement between
fixed analyzer with extrema counting
and Jones Matrix Eigenanalysis. On
the other hand, the interferometry
and fixed analyzer with Fourier trans-
form are in agreement statistically.
However, there may be possible
differences between the two types
of methods.

This method offers the advantage of

providing two functions in one
solution: PMD and OSA.

DUT

Broadband light Rotatable polarizer Optical spectrum

Fixed polarizer
source (SLED) analyser

figure 3

4
 When should I test PMD with my links?
PMD testing requirements mainly
come with the transmission bit rate
per channel and the corresponding
distance. It appears that the measure-
ment should be at least performed
when the bit rate is equal to or higher
than 10 Gbps. However, for some
applications, such as analog cable TV
applications, lower transmission bit
rates will be affected by PMD.
To summarize, the main circumstances
in which PMD measurement will be
required are:
– Ugrade of current networks for
10 Gbps bit rate or higher bit rate in
use or planned
– Installation of new fiber networks,
for 10 Gbps bit rate or higher bit rate
in use or planned
– Qualification of fiber/component
during manufacturing
Some of the organizations and stan-
dards state that 10 percent of the bit
rate for the PMD delay can be tolerated
for a system without disturbing the
network performance by more than
1 dB loss, at 1550 nm, with NRZ coding
(please see table below):
You will find below (figure 4) the table
for a typical system, which is the
maximum PMD coefficient as a func-
tion of length, for a given transmission
bit rate. This table is provided with the
following assumptions: the PMD is
considered to be Maxwelliam, NRZ
coding is used, 1550 nm lasers
are used, a maximum power penalty
of 1 dB is acceptable, a BER is typically
between 10–9 and 10–12. With this in
mind, the following formula could be
applied (L is the distance in km, B the
bit rate in Gbps, PMD the PMD value
in ps/km1/2).

Bit rate per channel SDH SONET Equivalent timeslot PMD delay limit
55 Mbps – OC-1 19.3 ns 2 ns
155 Mbps STM-1 OC-3 6.43 ns 640 ns
622 Mbps STM-4 OC-12 1.61 ns 160 ps
1.2 Gbps – OC-24 803 ps 80 ps
2.5 Gbps STM-16 OC-48 401 ps 40 ps
10 Gbps STM-64 OC-192 100 ps 10 ps
40 Gbps STM-256 OC-768 25.12 ps 2.5 ps

Tables are for information only.

100,000

10,000
2.5 Gbps OC-48

1000
Distance (km)

10 Gbps OC-192

100

40 Gbps OC-748
10

0.01 0.1 1 10 100

PMD (ps/km1/2))

figure 4 Maximum distance vs PMD coefficient and data bit rate

5
Standards such as ITU-T and IEC, with
the soon to be published G.dsn, IEC
61282-3 and IEC 60794-3 documents,
will provide more guidelines. TIA/EIA
TSB 107 “Guideline for the statistical
specification of polarization mode
dispersion on optical fiber cables”
is also available.
What do I do with this measurement?
Currently, there is no really simple
and low cost solution/component
available to correct a link which has a
high PMD value. This is still under con-
sideration and development. So PMD
is clearly limiting the distance (or the
transmission bit rate) of a given net-
work application.

Moreover, if there is a PMD issue, there

is no simple method to locate the part
of the link which is generating the
problem. Research & Development
investigations are ongoing to try to
also solve this issue.

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