The PAN5710 External Sensor Head in Four Configurations
From Left to Right: CXY1 XY Translating Lens Mount secured with four ER1.5 Cage Assembly Rods, CRM1 Cage Rotation Mount with four ER1.5 rods, CP02 Cage Plate with the SM1FC SM1-Threaded Fiber Adapter Plate with four ER1.5 rods, and SM fiber with the included fiber collimator.

Features

Two Types of Systems Available

Fiber-Coupled

Internal Sensor Head
Fiber-Based Measurement at a Fixed Wavelength Range

Free-Space

Interchangeable External Sensor Head
Free-Space and Fiber-Based Measurements Possible
Easy Integration into Optical Setups

Four Wavelength Ranges

400 - 700 nm
700 - 1000 nm
1000 - 1350 nm
1300 - 1700 nm

External Exchangeable Measurement Heads
High Dynamic Range of 70 dBm
Rotating Wave Plate Based
Sampling Rate up to 333 Samples/s
Excellent Accuracy
Preconfigured Laptop PC and Fiber Collimator Included

Applications

Free Space and In-Fiber Polarimetry
Degree of Polarization (DOP) Measurements
Extinction Ratio (ER) Measurements
Component for a PDL / PMD Measurement System

Thorlabs' Fiber-Coupled and Free-Space Polarimeters are terminating, rotating wave-plate-based, modules for free space and fiber-based measurements of the state of polarization (SOP). Their high dynamic range of 70 dB, broad wavelength range, and accuracy of ±0.2° on the Poincaré sphere opens a wide spectrum of application possibilities. These polarimeters are available with internal or external sensor heads and are fully compatible with Thorlabs' TXP5000 platform. Each PAX module ships with a preconfigured notebook for out-of-the-box plug & play operation.

All four Stokes values, which fully characterize a SOP, are provided either as analog output voltages or as digital values to the PC. An external trigger function allows synchronization of the PAX5700 Polarimeter with other devices. The PAX5710 offers an external sensor head, which can be used for free-space beams as well as for fiber-coupled measurements. A removable collimation package for a fiber connector input comes with each sensor head. The PAX5720 has an integrated non-removable collimation package for fiber-coupled measurements only.

Based on the Thorlabs TXP5000 Modular Test & Measurement System, the PAX Polarimeters offer additional features like USB/ Ethernet ports, 'plug and play' combination with other modules, easy-to-use graphical user interfaces, and flexible configurations via LabVIEW™ and Labwindows/CVI™, which allows the user to write his or her own application.

Each measurement sensor is calibrated at different wavelength points. These base points are interpolated.

Please Note:
The included, preconfigured Notebook computer is intended for sole use with the installed software to enable plug and play out-of-the-box operation. The PC is not specified and the model may change without notice. Thorlabs cannot provide any support for the PC except regarding the operation of this device. If you would prefer a PAX or PAN system without the PC, please contact Tech Support.

Fiber-Coupled Polarimeter Specifications

Item #	PAX5720VIS-T	PAX5720IR1-T	PAX5720IR2-T	PAX5720R3-T
Wavelength Range	400 - 700 nm	700 - 1000 nm	1000 - 1350 nm	1300 - 1700 nm
Maximum Measurement Rate	333 S/s
SOP Accuracy	±0.25° on Poincaré Sphere
SOP Resolution	0.01° on Poincaré Sphere
DOP Accuracy	±0.5%
DOP Resolution	0.0001
Dynamic Range	-60 to 10 dBm
Width	2 TXP Slots
Optical Input Connector	FC/PC
Warm Up Time for Rated Accuracy	<15 min
Analog Interface (via Front Panel D-Sub)	5 Analog Outputs: s1, s2, s3, DOP, Power 1 Analog Input: Trigger
Digital Interface	s1, s2, s3, Power (Watt/dBm), DOP, Azimuth, Ellipticity
Analog Monitor Output	-2.5 to 2.5 V
Operating Temperature Range	5 to 40 °C
Storage Temperature Range	-40 to 70 °C

Free-Space Polarimeter Specifications

Item #	PAX5710VIS-T	PAX5710IR1-T	PAX5710IR2-T	PAX5710R3-T
Wavelength Range	400 - 700 nm	700 - 1000 nm	1000 - 1350 nm	1300 - 1700 nm
Maximum Measurement Rate	333 S/s
SOP Accuracy	±0.25° on Poincaré Sphere
SOP Resolution	0.01° on Poincaré Sphere
DOP Accuracy	±0.5%
DOP Resolution	0.0001
Dynamic Range	-60 to 10 dBm
Free Space Aperture	Ø3 mm
Width	1 TXP Slot
Fiber Input Connector	FC/PC
Warm Up Time for Rated Accuracy	<15 min
Analog Interface (via Front Panel D-Sub)	5 Analog Outputs: s1, s2, s3, DOP, Power 1 Analog Input: Trigger
Digital Interface	s1, s2, s3, Power (Watt/dBm), DOP, Azimuth, Ellipticity
Analog Monitor Output	-2.5 to 2.5 V
Operating Temperature Range	5 to 40 °C
Storage Temperature Range	-40 to 70 °C

Note: All data are valid at 23 ±5°C and 45 ± 15% relative humidity.

	PAX5700 Series	IPM5300
Wavelength Ranges	400 - 700 nm 700 - 1000 nm 1000 - 1350 nm	1510 - 1640 nm 1200 - 1700 nm
Power Range	1 nW - 10 mW -60 - 10 dBm Depending on Design Wavelength	1 µW - 31 mW -30 - 15 dBm
Dynamic Range	70 dBm	45 dBm
Accuracy DOP	±0.5% Over Wavelength Range	±0.25% @ Power = 0 ± 3 dBm Average Time >1 ms
Accuracy SOP	±0.2°	±0.25°
Measurement Rate	Up to 333 Samples per Second	3 to 1 Megasamples per Second
Optical Aperture	Fiber: FC/PC Beam: Ø3 mm*	Fiber: FC/APC Beam: N/A
Analog Interfaces	s1, s2, s3, Power, DOP Trigger	s1, s2, s3, Power, DOP Trigger
Digital Interfaces	CVI/LabVIEW	CVI/LabVIEW
Applications	Polarimetry ER Measurements on PMF Expandable to PDL and PMD Measurements	Polarimetry Expandable to PDL and PMD Measurements
Module Type	PAX5710 with External Sensor PAX5720 with Internal Sensor	IPM5300 In-Fiber Solution
Data Interface	USB/Ethernet	USB/Ethernet

* For Free-Space Polarimeters (PAX57100 Series) only.

Software Modules for the PAX Polarimeters

There are two complete software packages available for download below.

Software

Version 2.9

Standard full TXP software packages:
Applications, Drivers, and Firmware

OR

Advanced Beta Version*

Version 3.0.20 (April 5, 2012)

For operation of all PAX series polarimeters under Windows Vista and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) including GUI and drivers. This is an updated version of the TXP-software that is compatible with PAX devices only.

*This release candidate software version, which incorporates new features and/or bug fixes as outlined in the change log file on the download page, has been through several rounds of testing and there are currently no significant bugs. Once full testing and documentation is avalable, this version will become the standard software package. In the interim, Thorlabs is making this complete software file available for those customers whose research endeavors would benefit from the updated features.

Computer Connection

USB Type B

USB Type B to Type A Cable Included

Analog Output and Trigger Input

D-Type Female

DB9 Female

Pin	Name	I/O	Value	Function
1	Trigger	I	3.3/5 V	External Trigger-signal (0V=L, 3.3 ... 5 V=H) (for array mode)
2	AGND			Analog Ground
3	Power	O	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Optical Power log. (-70 dBm ... +30 dBm)
4	S₃	O	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Normalized Stokes Vector S₃ (-1 ... +1)
5	S₁	O	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Normalized Stokes Vector S₁ (-1 ... +1)
6	DGND		-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Digital ground for Trigger
7	Analog In	I	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Analog Control signal (not used here)
8	DOP	O	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Degree of Polarization (0 ... 110%)
9	S₂	O	-2.5 ... +2.5 V	Normalized Stokes Vector S₂ (-1 ... +1)

FIber-Coupled Polarimeter (PAX5720-T)

FC/PC Collimation Package to connect a fiber, Nonremovable
TXP 4 Slot Chassis with USB Control (TXP5004)
Preconfigured Laptop with Software & GUI Installed
USB Connection Cable
Software CD ROM
LabVIEW™ and LabWINDOWS™ /CVI Driver Set
Operating Manual

Free-Space Polarimeter (PAX5710-T)

External Sensor Head with 2 m Connection Cable
FC/PC Collimation Package to connect a fiber, Removable
TXP 4 Slot Chassis with USB Control (TXP5004)
Preconfigured Laptop with Software & GUI Installed
USB Connection Cable
Software CD ROM
LabVIEW™ and LabWINDOWS™ /CVI Driver Set
Operating Manual

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Posted Comments:

Poster: roei.yiftah

Posted Date: 2013-02-11 05:28:59.317

i am working with 5004 series polarimeter do i need to calibrate the polarimeter? if so how can i do it

Poster: tschalk

Posted Date: 2013-02-12 02:48:00.0

This is a response from Thomas at Thorlabs. Thank you very much for your inquiry. In normal operation the PAX57xx card does not need any service. For highest precision of the measurement it is recommended to recalibrate the PAX57xx every two years. You can see the due date of calibration in the card info-menu of the card driver to determine the recalibration date. If you want to recalibrate your polarimeter you should contact the technical support of Thorlabs and they will arrange a RMA (return merchandise authorization) for you.

Poster: jvigroux

Posted Date: 2012-11-16 12:57:00.0

A response form Thomas at Thorlabs: The error message "eigenmodes are not strictly linear" appears when the center of the circle is too far away from the equator on the Poincare sphere. This can have several origin, ranging from a poor coupling into the fiber to the fact that the fiber contains any element that transforms the polarization (for instance a piece of non PM fiber). In some cases, some stress can occur in the connector that leads ot a transformation of the SOP within the distance that is stressed. I will contact you directly to help finding out what the origin of this effect can be in your case.

Poster: knottenbelt

Posted Date: 2012-11-15 15:43:36.113

Dear Sir/Madam, I am inquiring about an error message. Can you please tell me the meaning when a error message states" eigenmodes are not strictly linear". Second when an error message appears the values are in yellow. How accurate are they? as compared to green values? Thank you

Poster:

Posted Date: 2012-04-12 15:18:03.0

Dear Sir/Madam, I have an additional question, regarding the possibility of using multiple sensor heads with one PAX5710-T polarimeter. The image seems to suggest that it is possible to attach mutltiple sensor heads to one polarimeter; is this indeed the case? Sincerely, Bruno van Albada

Poster: jvigroux

Posted Date: 2012-04-12 15:07:00.0

A response form Julien at Thorlabs: Dear Bruno, thank you for your request. It is indeed possible to connect several polarimeter measurement heads to the same polarimeter mainframe. The polarimeter system consists of three different parts: the mainframe (TXP5004), the readout card and the measurement head. Each measurement head needs to be connected to a readout card. The readout card being the same for all wavelengths range, one can simply connect a head having a different wavelength range to the same card. If two or more polarimeters are to be used simultaneously, one will need as many cards as there are measurement heads. The TXP5004 can fit up to four cards. Should you have any furtehr question, please do not hesitate to contact us at techsupport@thorlabs.com

Poster: jvigroux

Posted Date: 2012-02-28 13:15:00.0

A response from Julien at Thorlabs: Dear Bruno, thank you for your inquiry! the Stokes parameters are cosine and sine functions of the azymuth and of the ellipticity. This means that the absolute accuracy that is specified for those two angles does not translate linearly to an accuracy for the stokes vector. Rather the measurement error on the Stokes vector will vary with the actual angles measured. As an example, S3 depends only on the ellipticity E and can be written as S3=pIsin(2E) where p is the degree of polarization and I is the intensity. For a real ellipticity of 1°, the measured ellipticity will lie within the interval [0.75°;1.25°]. When one uses the above formula to calculate back S3 for the upper and lower boundaries of this interval, one finds that the error on S3 can be as high as 20%. If the ellipticity is however close to 45°, the error on S3 will be much smaller than 0.1%. The same type of effect will influence the measurement accuracy of S1 and S2. I would be happy to further discuss your application and its requirements in order to estimate to which extent the non linear dependence of the Stokes parameters on the polarization angles can have an influence on your measurement results. Please feel free to contact us at techsupport@thorlabs.com

Poster:

Posted Date: 2012-02-28 07:03:40.0

Dear Sir/Madam, I have a question regarding the accuracy of the polarimeters. This is now stated in terms of degrees on the poincare sphere; could you please tell me what this means in terms of the Stokes parameters(in percentages, if at all possible?) Sincerely, Bruno van Albada

Poster: bdada

Posted Date: 2011-04-26 12:50:00.0

Response from Buki at Thorlabs: Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, we have not been able to track your email. We have contacted you directly to ask you to resend the quote to TechSupport@thorlabs.com so we can prepare a quote a for you. We usually respond to inquiries within 24 hrs.

Poster: siyu.wang

Posted Date: 2011-04-26 04:34:52.0

Hello, This is Sanmina-SCI optical technology Shenzhen Ltd. I sent an email to Thorlabs for one calibration quotation for our PAX system on April 22.But I do not get any respond till to today.

Poster: jhartmann

Posted Date: 2011-02-17 13:16:57.0

The limitation of max of 1024 datapoints is given for the scope mode of PAXs graphic user interface and the reason for it is the internal memory size of the polarimeters DSP. This enables to record each acquired data point, even at the highest sampling rate. The downside is the limited memory size. With the current hardware design the memory cannot be extended. However, we have noticed this feature is required and will consider that for future product design.

Poster: carkajou.element

Posted Date: 2011-01-06 10:23:10.0

I, we bought a new Polarimeters "PAX5710IRR3" with the remote head "PAN5710IR3". We are very desapointed to find in the manuel named "Polarization Analysing System PAX5710/5720 VIS/IR1/IR2/IR3" AT PAGE 39, point 5: Number of measurments-specifies the length of the record wich will be collected. The maximum number is 1024. We have 4 old models of polarimeters "PA480" with no limit of points for the aquisition mode. This is very frustrating for us, because 10 000$ of investment is useless. We need 10000 points or more of aquisition for the production line. What is the cause of the limitation: electronics, software??? My telephone number is the (888) 255-9303 ext 4266

Poster: Greg

Posted Date: 2009-02-02 08:37:18.0

A response from Greg at Thorlabs to oguz.celikel: Thank you for your interest in Thorlabs products. One of our Applications Engineers will be in contact with you shortly.

Poster: oguz.celikel

Posted Date: 2009-02-02 03:26:33.0

Dear Sales Responsible of Thorlabs, I need a Fiber Optic Polarimeter operating on (1300 +/- 20 ) nm and (1550 +/- 20) nm. The dynamic range is -60 dBm to 10 dBm is sufficient. As I see, PAX5720IR3-T is suitable. Please send me a formal quotation PAX5720IR3-T (TXP Polarimeter including PC with internal sensor 1350-1700 nm) with FC/PC connector compatible. Additionally, is it possible to extend the wavelentgh span of polarimeter by adding an external 1000-1350 nm sensor module into PAX5720IR3-T? and is it compatible with PAX5720IR3-T including PC software etc.? If it is so, please order a separate quotation for this additional module and send me urgently. Dr. Oguz CELIKEL BS&MS Phy. Eng. / Researcher Fiber Optic Metrology Division of National Metrology Institute of TURKEY TUBITAK UME Address : MAM Kampusu PO Box: 54 41470 Gebze - Kocaeli E-mail : oguz.celikel@ume.tubitak.gov.tr Tel : +90 262 679 50 00 (3354) lab. (3302) office

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