Manual Fiber Polarization Controllers
Chapter 2: General Description
Page 8
1167-D02
2.3. Recommended Number of Loops
The retardation of multi-order (including zero order) quarter-wave plate is
given by the following equation:
2
1
2
where
m
is an integer. Similarly, the retardation of multi-order (including zero
order) half-wave plate is given by:
2
1
See the table below for several solutions to the equations
Order
m
Quarter-Wave
Plate Retardation
Half-Wave Plate
Retardation
Zero
0
2
1.57
3.14
1
st
1
3
2
4.71
3
9.42
2
nd
2
5
2
7.85
5
15.71
3
rd
3
7
2
11.00
7
21.99
4
th
4
9
2
14.14
9
28.27
5
th
5
11
2
17.28
11
35.56
The retardation of each paddle should be close to any number above. The
paddle rotation sensitivity should also be taken into consideration when
determining the number of fiber loops. In creasing the number of loops
increases the sensitivity to rotation. One loop is usually too insensitive for most
applications and is rarely used.
