Complete Polarization Control for a Nanofiber Waveguide Using Directional Coupling

Abstract

Optical nanofiber waveguides are widely used for near-field delivery and measurement of light. Despite their versatility and efficiency, nanofibers have a critical drawback - their inability to maintain light's polarization state on propagation. Here, we design a directional coupler consisting of two crossed nanofibers to probe the polarization state at the waist region. Directionality of coupling occurs due to asymmetric dipolar emission or spin locking when the evanescent field pattern breaks the mirror symmetry of the crossed-nanofiber system. We demonstrate that, by monitoring the outputs from the directional coupler, two nonorthogonal polarization states can be prepared at the nanofiber waist with a fidelity higher than 99%. Based on these states, we devise a simple and reliable method for complete control of the polarization along a nanofiber waveguide.