Patent ID: 7062123

Claim:
A higher-order dispersion compensator for tuning a polarization controlled signal having a first polarization mode dispersion component, a second order polarization mode dispersion component, and a variable chromatic dispersion component, the compensator comprising: a) a first tuning element that adjusts the first order polarization mode dispersion component of the polarization controlled signal; and b) a second tuning element that adjusts the second order polarization mode dispersion component and the variable chromatic dispersion component of the polarization controlled signal, wherein the first tuning element comprises a differential delay line including: a polarization beam splitter coupled to receive the polarization controlled signal, where the polarization beam splitter splits the polarization controlled signal into a first polarization component and a second polarization component, orthogonal to the first polarization component; a first waveguide optically coupled to receive the first polarization component, the first waveguide having a first linearly chirped grating tuned to reflect the first polarization component and having a first refrence reflection point; a second waveguide optically coupled to receive the second polarization component, the second waveguide having a second linearly chirped grating tuned to reflect the second polarization component and having a second reference reflection point; and a first tuning mechanism that tunes one of the gratings.