An apparatus for sensing a value of a property includes: an optical sensor having a single mode optical fiber responsive to the property; an optical interrogator having a tunable laser to transmit polarized light to the optical sensor, a photo-detector to receive sensor light, and a controller configured to process the received light and output the value of the property; and a passive random depolarizer disposed between the tunable laser and the single mode optical fiber and having (i) a first polarization maintaining (PM) optical fiber of length L1 having a first fast optical axis and a first slow optical axis and (ii) a second PM optical fiber of length L2 having a second fast optical axis and a second slow optical axis rotationally spliced to the first PM optical fiber in which the second fast and slow optical axes are offset from the first fast and slow optical axes.

An optical connection component includes: a plurality of types of optical fibers; a plurality of high relative refractive-index difference optical fibers in each of which a relative refractive-index difference between a core and a cladding is larger than a relative refractive-index difference in each of the plurality of types of optical fibers and which are fusion spliced to the plurality of types of optical fibers; and a fixing member having a plurality of V-shaped grooves that receive the high relative refractive-index difference optical fibers with coating removed, the fixing member being configured to fix relative positions of the high relative refractive-index difference optical fibers and an optical element when optically coupling the high relative refractive-index difference optical fibers, which have been fusion spliced to the plurality of types of optical fibers, to the optical element. The high relative refractive-index difference optical fibers are of the same type.

A system for measuring a polarization extinction ratio (PER) using a reference master test jumper (MTJ) is disclosed. The system may include an optical source to transmit an optical signal via an optical fiber. The system may also include a device under test (DUT) communicatively coupled to the optical source via the optical fiber to receive the optical signal from the optical source. The system may also include an optical measurement component communicatively coupled to the device under test (DUT). In some examples, the optical fiber may be configured or initialized to be a reference master test jumper (MTJ) that minimizes inherent polarization extinction ratio (PER) of the optical fiber when measuring a polarization extinction ratio (PER) during a measurement action.

A waveguide interferometer includes a multicore fiber used a multicore waveguide, where the multicore waveguide includes a coupler section formed by tapering a portion of the multicore waveguide so that one core though which a light source is fed is optically coupled to another core that is terminated differently that the core into which the source signal is provided. The terminations respond differently upon being exposed to an environmental condition or substance, and the difference in response to the environmental condition or substance results in a shift in interference of the light reflected back through the multicore waveguide, which is detected with a detector on the same side of the multicore waveguide as the light source.

An optical module that includes a shell, an optical fiber, a coupling portion, and a ferrule is disclosed. The shell installs an optical device, for instance, a multi-mode interference (MMI) device therein. The optical fiber in a tip thereof is optically coupled with the optical device within the shell. The coupling portion has a cylindrical shape with a bore having an axis and secures the optical fiber, where the coupling portion is attached to the shell. The ferrule, which is secured in the coupling portion, has a pillared shape with a diameter that is slightly smaller than a diameter of the bore of the coupling portion. The ferrule has a groove that receives and secures the optical fiber therein. The filler fills the groove and fixes the optical fiber in the groove.

An optical module includes a laser light supply system and a chip disposed within a housing. The chip includes a laser input optical port and a transmit data optical port and a receive data optical port. The optical module includes a link-fiber interface exposed at an exterior surface of the housing. The link-fiber interface includes a transmit data connector and a receive data connector. The optical module includes a polarization-maintaining optical fiber connected between a laser output optical port of the laser light supply system and the laser input optical port of the chip. The optical module includes a first non-polarization-maintaining optical fiber connected between the transmit data optical port of the chip and the transmit data connector of the link-fiber interface. The optical module includes a second non-polarization-maintaining optical fiber connected between the receive data optical port of the chip and the receive data connector of the link-fiber interface.

An optical input/output chiplet is disposed on a first package substrate. The optical input/output chiplet includes one or more supply optical ports for receiving continuous wave light. The optical input/output chiplet includes one or more transmit optical ports through which modulated light is transmitted. The optical input/output chiplet includes one or more receive optical ports through which modulated light is received by the optical input/output chiplet. An optical power supply module is disposed on a second package substrate. The second package substrate is separate from the first package substrate. The optical power supply module includes one or more output optical ports through which continuous wave laser light is transmitted. A set of optical fibers optically connect the one or more output optical ports of the optical power supply module to the one or more supply optical ports of the optical input/output chiplet.

An optical line device for use in an optical line system is configured to connect to a second optical line device via a transmit fiber and a receive fiber. The optical line device includes a transmitter connected to the transmit fiber via an output port of the optical line device, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a polarization probe signal at a wavelength outside of a band of wavelengths used for traffic-bearing channels in the optical line signal, to a second polarimeter receiver at the second optical line device; and a polarimeter receiver connected to the receive fiber via an input port of the optical line device, wherein the polarimeter receiver is configured to receive a second polarization probe signal from a second transmitter transmitted from the second optical line device and to derive a measurement of SOP on the receive fiber based on the second polarization probe signal.

A polarimeter includes a Polarization Maintaining (PM) coupler with an input configured to receive input light and split the input light to a first output and a second output; a first PM fiber coupled to the first output; a second PM fiber coupled to the second output; a first polarization device coupled to the first PM fiber; a second polarization device coupled to the second PM fiber; and a plurality of detectors coupled to the first polarization device and the second polarization device, wherein outputs i.sub.1, i.sub.2, i.sub.3, i.sub.4 are determined based on outputs of the plurality of detectors, the outputs i.sub.1, i.sub.2, i.sub.3, i.sub.4 are linear projections of corresponding Stokes Parameters of the input light.

A high density interconnect arrangement takes the form of a backplane-pluggable card, with electrical connections formed along a single (pluggable) edge and all remaining connections provided via optical fibers. An exemplary interconnect arrangement also includes on-board optical sources and silicon photonic-based circuitry for providing optical transceiver functionality. Passively aligned fiber arrays are utilized to provide I/O connections to external elements, as well as between laser sources and on-board silicon photonics.