Patent ID: 7106979

Claim:
A polarization mode dispersion compensating apparatus, comprising: a polarization mode dispersion compensator optically coupled to an input port and receiving an input optical signal having polarization mode dispersion and a wavelength dither, said polarization mode dispersion compensator having a variable polarization mode dispersion, and an output of said polarization mode dispersion compensator serving as an output of the polarization mode dispersion compensating apparatus; a polarimeter optically coupled to the output of said polarization mode dispersion compensator and outputting electrical signals representing polarization states of the output of said polarization mode dispersion compensator; and a controller operatively coupled to said polarimeter and said polarization mode compensator, said controller receiving the electrical signals from said polarimeter, said controller controlling said polarization mode dispersion compensator according to the electrical signal to compensate for the polarization mode dispersion of the input optical signal.