Patent ID: 7275878

Claim:
A method for assembling an optical device, the method comprising the following acts: receiving a desired value for an optical output parameter associated with an optical output from the assembled optical device; receiving an intermediate optical device comprising: a laser configured to produce the optical output having an unattenuated parameter value for the optical output parameter; an optical package configured to attenuate the optical output such that the unattenuated value of the parameter is reduced to an intermediate value of the optical output parameter, wherein the intermediate value is closer to the desired value for the optical output parameter; measuring the intermediate value of the optical output parameter; calculating an additional attenuation needed to further refine the intermediate attenuated value to within a specified tolerance of the desired value; and identifying an optical barrel with characteristics that most closely provide the additional attenuation needed, wherein the optical barrel is identified from among a plurality of optical barrels with different attenuation characteristics.