Patent ID: 6801310
Filing Date: 2004-10-05
Classification: G02B,H04J

Abstract:
A system for individually modifying wavelength components of a DWDM beam of an arbitrary state of polarization comprising a combination of:a diffractive beam separation system including spaced apart reflector surfaces for separating the wavelength components of the DWDM beam; an optical system converging the separate components from the beam separation system into an array of beams of different wavelength forming beam waists serially dispersed in a sagittal direction at a focal plane; a polarization splitter device disposed in the optical path for separating the polarization components of the wavelength components into adjacent beams; a plurality of liquid crystal cells dispersed at the focal plane in an array along the sagittal direction and each responsive to the polarization components of a different wavelength component to transform the polarization direction of the components individually to selectable orientations, the cell array being configured to direct the transformed wavelength components back through the optical system for refraction and combination into a modified DWDM beam, and polarization diversity optics including at least one polarization sensitive element proximate each of the liquid crystal cells for rejecting, in the transformed wavelength components, polarization components of other than a selected orientation.