Faraday circulators (original) (raw)

Definition: a non-reciprocal optical device sending light from each input to the next output port

Categories: general optics, photonic devices

• optical elements
  • polarization optics
    * polarizers
    * waveplates
    * Berek compensators
    * Brewster plates
    * depolarizers
    * polarization scramblers
    * Faraday rotators
    * optical isolators
    * Faraday circulators
    * Faraday isolators
    * Faraday mirrors
    * Babinet–Soleil compensators
    * fiber polarization controllers
    * (more topics)

Related: Faraday isolatorsFaraday rotators

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Contents

What is a Faraday Circulator?

Figure 1: Symbol for a three-port Faraday circulator. For convenience, one may sometimes prefer a symbol version with counter-clockwise circulation. The port numbers are not essential, as the arrow indicates the direction of circulation.

Faraday circulators (or less specifically optical circulators) are a kind of non-reciprocal optical devices. They are technically related to Faraday isolators, and on a broader scale similar to electronic circulators. Typically, a circulator has three or four optical ports (inputs / outputs), although there could in principle be more. Light entering one port exits from the next port, or from the first port if injected into the last. For instance, in a three-port device, the light paths can be illustrated as:

• 1 → 2
• 2 → 3
• 3 → 1

Depending on the type of circulator, this may work only for specific polarization directions of input light, or in a polarization-independent manner.

In diagrams of optical setups, a circular symbol with an arrow is used to denote the direction of circulation (refer to Figure 1).

The non-reciprocal behavior is evident when light enters the device at port 1 and exits at port 2, but the reverse is not possible: light entering port 2 exits at port 3, not port 1.

Operation Principle

Faraday circulators are magneto-optic devices based on the Faraday effect — rotation of the polarization — as explained in the article on Faraday rotators. Typically, one uses a Faraday rotator with 45° rotation of the polarization, often in combination with a ($\lambda/2$) waveplate oriented such that it compensates for the effect of the rotator in one propagation direction, while for the other propagation direction one obtains a 90° change in polarization direction.

Figure 2: Setup of a polarizing four-port Faraday circulator, containing two polarizing beam splitters (PBS), a Faraday rotator (FR) and a ($\lambda/2$) waveplate. The polarization directions at the four relevant ports are indicated. Unused ports at the bottom of the polarizers are not shown.

As an example, a four-port circulator can be constructed as shown in Figure 2. As explained above, the combination of Faraday rotator and waveplate in the middle will maintain the linear polarization of light moving from left to right, while rotating the polarization of light moving from right to left by 90°.

That device would not work, for example, with s polarization sent into port 1; that light would be sent to the bottom by the first polarizer, where no port is installed.

More advanced designs can accommodate any input polarization to any port, a feature often desired in fiber optics. This is achieved by creating different geometric paths through the Faraday rotator and waveplate, based on the polarization direction.

Some Faraday isolators are already equipped with an additional output port, where back-reflected light from the output emerges. However, what prevents it from being a true circulator is that light sent into that output port gets back to the original input.

Fiber-optic and Other Faraday Circulators

Although Faraday circulators are usually bulk-optical devices, where light beams travel through homogeneous optical media (the rotator crystal, polarizers, and air), they can be equipped with optical fiber ports, each of which has a collimating/focusing lens. That makes them suitable for applications in fiber optics, such as optical fiber communications. Indeed, fiber-optic circulators are used more widely than bulk-optical variants, which are uncommon in bulk laser technology, but used in some areas such as LIDAR.

In numerous instances, fiber-optic Faraday circulators are equipped with single-mode fibers for use in the 1.5-μm telecom band. They are fairly compact and lightweight devices. They are available in polarizing and polarization-independent variants, and are typically suitable for some hundreds of milliwatts of optical power.

Optical circulators can also be interesting for devices made in integrated optics, e.g. in silicon photonics, but these are relatively difficult to implement in a compact form.

Various Imperfections

The above-described operation applies to a hypothetical ideal circulator. A real circulator exhibits various kinds of imperfections, which are the subject of technical product specifications:

• Insertion loss: there is some loss of optical power of light going through it. (It can be well below 1 decibel.)
• Incomplete isolation: some (usually rather small) unwanted optical power emerging from other output ports, or reflected back to the input port (finite extinction ratio or return loss, typically several tens of decibels).
• Beam distortions: for bulk-optical devices, the wavefronts of transmitted light may be somewhat deformed.

These performance figures depend on the optical wavelength; circulators work well only within a limited optical bandwidth. One may specify lower limits of the mentioned performance factors within the whole bandwidth.

Besides, there are limitations of the power handling, optical nonlinearities (particularly the Kerr effect) and chromatic dispersion.

Typical Applications of Faraday Circulators

A few typical applications of fiber-optic Faraday circulators are briefly explained in the following:

• One can integrate a reflective fiber-optic component, e.g. a fiber Bragg grating, into a fiber-optic light path (see Figure 3). That is used, for example, in some fiber ring lasers and for signal waves in optical fiber communications systems.
• Similarly, one can realize a double pass through some device, such as a fiber amplifier.
• There are also various applications in the area of fiber-optic sensors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Faraday circulator?

A Faraday circulator is a non-reciprocal optical device, typically with three or four ports, that directs light sequentially from one port to the next in a single rotational direction (e.g., 1 → 2, 2 → 3, and 3 → 1).

What is the operating principle of a Faraday circulator?

It is a magneto-optic device that utilizes the Faraday effect to rotate the polarization of light. This non-reciprocal polarization rotation, often combined with waveplates and polarizers, creates direction-dependent optical paths.

What is the difference between an optical circulator and an isolator?

An optical isolator allows light to pass in one direction but blocks it in reverse. A circulator also provides this forward path but routes the reverse-traveling light to a different output port instead of blocking or absorbing it.

Are Faraday circulators polarization-dependent?

Some designs work only for a specific input polarization. However, polarization-independent versions are also widely available and are particularly common in fiber optics, as they can handle any polarization state.

What are typical applications of Faraday circulators?

They are frequently used in fiber-optic systems for bidirectional communication over a single fiber, for routing light to and from reflective components like fiber Bragg gratings, and in fiber amplifiers and sensor systems.

What are the key performance metrics of a circulator?

Important performance specifications include insertion loss (power lost in the intended path), isolation (suppression of light in unwanted paths), return loss, and the usable optical bandwidth.

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