Experimental and theoretical modeling of polarization-mode dispersion in single-mode fibers

The random coupling-length basis was used in the numerical simulation of single-mode fibers (SMF's) with the coarse step method. We show that a single set of coupling lengths, angles and phases accounts for bath, the Maxwellian statistics and the nonperiodical differential group delay spectral dependence in agreement with experimental observations. An SMF and a polarization mode dispersion (PMD) emulator were both measured and simulated. The comparison between the experimental results and numerical simulations shows that the random coupling-lengths mathematical model and the emulator device provide good descriptions either for the first-order PMD statistics or second-order PMD, being powerful tools for the simulation of signal distortion.