Patent ID: 8054539

Claim:
An optical system, comprising: an input surface configured to receive an input optical signal having a polarization; a polarization changer comprising the input surface and configured to generate two orthogonal polarization components from the input optical signal and change a direction of the polarization of the input optical signal in a controlled manner as a function of time while maintaining coherence of the two orthogonal polarization components; wherein the polarization changer comprises: a modulator configured to modulate the input optical signal to generate the two orthogonal polarization components responsive to an oscillating control signal; and a phase delay component positioned relative to the modulator to receive the two orthogonal polarization components, the phase delay component being configured to induce a phase delay of one of the two orthogonal polarization components relative to another one of the two orthogonal polarization components, wherein the phase delay induced by the phase delay component causes rotation of the direction of the polarization of the input optical signal, at a rate controlled by the control signal, to produce an output optical signal; an optical source configured to generate the input optical signal, wherein the input optical signal comprises a substantially constant amplitude; and a polarizer positioned between the optical source and the modulator and configured to polarize the input optical signal.