Abstract

A system for accurate balancing and controlled unbalancing of the optical path difference in all-fiber optical interferometers is described. Interferometers with various arm lengths (1–30 m) and with initial optical path differences of as much as 1 cm have been successfully balanced within a 5-µm range. In addition, the proposed system allows for controlled unbalancing of arbitrary all-fiber optical interferometers with a precision better than 5 µm.

© 2002 Optical Society of America

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