Patent ID: 6522796
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: G02B,H01S,H04J

Abstract:
A depolarizing combiner device comprising:a polarization combiner having a first input to which a first light beam having a first polarization is applied, a second input to which a second light beam having a second polarization, orthogonal to said first polarization, is applied, said polarization combiner being operative to produce at an output thereof a mixed polarization light beam having said first and second polarizations; and a first polarization maintaining (PM) optical fiber that maintains therein mutually orthogonal modes of light polarization, and having an input coupled to said output of said polarization combiner so that said mixed polarization light beam produced by said polarization combiner is coupled into and propagates through said first PM optical fiber, and wherein said first PM optical fiber is oriented with respect to said first and second polarizations of said mixed polarization light beam coupled thereto from said output of said polarization combiner, so as to cause said mixed polarization light beam to be depolarized into said mutually orthogonal modes equally within said first PM optical fiber.