The principle of the mode cross coupling in polarization-maintaining fiber based on white-light interferometry was analyzed. The method of measuring the polarization mode coupling with a spatial Michelson interferometer was presented. Analysis and emulation were carried out for the vibration disturbance signal caused by the mechanical scanning and the influence the vibration imposed on the judgment of coupling intensity. The interference signal envelope is extracted by a Hilbert transform and fitted by a Gaussian least-squares method under the different scanning speed. It is indicated that the detection accuracy varies with the vibration amplitude, which varies with scanning speed. The best scanning speed of the system should be from 0.7 mm/s to 0.9 mm/s to achieve the minimum detection error.
© 2011 Optical Society of America