Patent ID: 7295781

Claim:
An optical communication system that compensates for polarization mode dispersion (PMD), comprising; an optical source that transmits two or more optical signals having different optical frequency bands; and a first optical compensator that receives the two or more optical signals and rotates at least one polarization state of the two or more optical signals based on an error condition to compensate for PMD, wherein the first optical compensator is positioned at a location between the optical source and an optical receiver and defined by a ratio Ψ 1/ Ψ 2; wherein Ψ 1/ Ψ 2 is less than approximately 1.2, and wherein Ψ 1 is the average PMD of a first optical conduit between the optical compensator and optical source, and Ψ 2 is the average PMD of the second optical conduit between the optical compensator and optical receiver.