The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 07, 2004
Filed:
Dec. 18, 2002
Barry J. Koch, Blaine, MN (US);
Terry L. Smith, Roseville, MN (US);
Barbara A. DeBaun, Woodbury, MN (US);
3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
A method for compensating for higher-order dispersion of an incoming optical communications signal in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of compensating the signal for first order polarization mode dispersion; compensating the signal for second order polarization mode dispersion; and compensating the signal for variable chromatic dispersion. Additionally, the method may include the steps of compensation for fixed chromatic dispersion and controlling the polarization of the incoming signal. The signal may be monitored after the compensating steps and the degree of compensation may be tuned based on the monitoring. The step of compensating the signal for first order polarization mode dispersion may include the steps of controlling the polarization of the signal; splitting the signal into a first and a second orthogonal polarization components; reflecting the first polarization component in a fixed linearly chirped grating; reflecting the second polarization component in a tuned linearly chirped grating; and recombining the first and the second polarization components.