Patent ID: 7050234

Claim:
A passive optical device, comprising: first and second ports at a first end of an in-line optical fiber package; a third port at a second end of the in-line package opposite the first end and opposing the first and second ports, a first polarization-dependent optical path being defined between the first and second ports for light in a first polarization state and a second polarization-dependent path being defined between the first and third ports for light in a second polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state; a polarizer disposed between the first and second ends of the in-line package on an axis of the in-line package to reflect light in the first polarization state and transmit light in the second polarization state; and a reflecting surface disposed on the first path between the polarizer and one of the first and second ports, the reflecting surface being disposed to direct light received from the polarizer in a direction away from the polarizer; wherein, when light comprising components in the first and second polarization states enters the device at the first port, the component in the first polarization state is directed to the second port while the component in the second polarization state is directed to the third port.