Patent ID: 7142784

Claim:
A device for conditioning a multi-channel optical signal having a power level associated with each of the channels, comprising: an optical attenuator having multiple attenuating elements each corresponding to one of the multiple channels, said attenuating elements adjusting the power levels of the corresponding channel signals transmitted therethrough; an optical detector having multiple detecting elements each corresponding to one of the multiple attenuating elements; a reflective medium disposed between the optical attenuator and the optical detector, said reflective medium reflecting a first portion of each of the multiple channel signals transmitted through the attenuating elements and transmitting a second portion of each of the multiple channel signals transmitted through the attenuating elements to the corresponding one of the multiple detecting elements; and a controller in electrical communication with the optical attenuator and the optical detector; wherein: the detecting elements detect the power level of the second portion of each of the multiple channel signals transmitted through the reflective medium and converts optical signals to electrical data; and the controller receives and processes the electrical data and controls the multiple attenuating elements according to the electrical data in order to adjust the power level of the reflected first portion of each of the multiple channel signals to provide conditioned channel signals.