Mode-coupled artifact standard for polarization-mode dispersion: design, assembly, and implementation

A stack of quasi-randomly oriented quartz plates has been assembled as a calibration artifact for mode-coupled polarization-mode dispersion. The design of the artifact, the reasons for choosing it, the procedure for its assembly, and its implementation are described. Considerable discussion is also devoted to the fact that this mode-coupled artifact is limited in scope to polarimetric measurement techniques (those that directly measure differential group delay as a function of wavelength).