Patent ID: 7554885

Claim:
A method for recovering optical signals carried by optical fibers that have at least one region intermediate a signal encoding source and an optical receiver that is subjected to physical vibration due to tow cable strum resulting in undesired polarization changes in the light beams carried by the optical fibers, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a source of light over a certain optical cable connected between a watercraft and a signal encoding source disposed under water and towed behind the watercraft; generating, by the signal encoding source based on the light from the source of light first and second light beams each carrying a representation of the same information where the second light beam has a polarization that is substantially different from the first light beam; receiving by an optical receiver disposed on the watercraft the first and second light beams carried from the signal encoding source by respective first and second optical fibers, the first and second fibers subjected to said physical vibration due to tow cable strum, detecting information carried by the first and second light beams by the optical receiver by using benefits of polarization diversity to minimize degradation of signal recovery due to the adverse polarization changes caused by vibration of the first and second optic fibers.