The Distributed Polarization Crosstalk (X-Talk) Analyzer (PXA-1000) is an enhanced version of a white light interferometer designed to obtain space-resolved stress information by analyzing stress-induced polarization cross-coupling along a length of polarization maintaining (PM) fiber. Its patent-pending optical design eliminates the strong zero-order interference and reduces the multi-coupling interference common in traditional white light interferometers, both of which can cause "ghost" peaks in the measured signal. The removal of the "ghost" peaks enables the PXA-1000 to unambiguously identify the magnitudes and locations of actual x-talk peaks, resulting in higher measurement sensitivity, higher dynamic range, and higher spatial measurement accuracy than traditional white light interferometers.
