Patent ID: 7068944

Claim:
An optical monitor comprising: a polarization dependent beam splitter having a signal input port, a mixing signal input, a first output port and a second output port, said signal input port adapted for receiving an input optical signal having first and second orthogonal polarization components, said mixing signal input being adapted for receiving an optical mixing signal having a first and second polarization component parallel to said first and second polarization components of said optical input signal, respectively, said polarization dependent beam splitter generating first and second output signals on said first and second output ports, respectively, said first output signal comprising the sum of said first polarization components of said input optical signal and said optical mixing signal, and said second output signal comprising the sum of said second polarization components of said optical signal and said optical mixing signal; first and second light detectors for receiving said first and second output optical signals and generating electrical signals therefrom; a mixing optical signal light source for generating said mixing optical signal and coupling said mixing optical signal to said mixing signal input; and a processor for generating a signal indicative of at least two optical properties of said input optical signal.