Principle of a polarisation controller using fibre confined homeotropic electroclinic liquid crystal cells

International audienceIn this paper, we discuss the principle of a polarisation controller, with fast response times, combining liquid crystal rotatable waveplates. The device uses a smectic A* liquid crystal material in a homeotropic orientation. This particular structure allows high speed endless control of the polarisation and fine tuning of the induced phase retardation. These characteristics, combined with recent advances in the confinement of liquid crystal between single mode fibre cores, make this solution highly suited to use in polarisation mode dispersion compensation. The design, advantages and limitations of such a solution are briefly discussed