Patent ID: 7068896

Claim:
A method for producing polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in a controlled manner, by specifying amounts of first and second order PMD, including, in particular, large amounts of first and second order PMD, using a concatenation of birefringent elements or sections, said method comprising the steps of: (a) aligning the birefringent elements or sections with respect to one another; (b) determining at least a PMD vector for each birefringent element or section; (c) determining at least a total PMD vector and the frequency derivative of the PMD vector for a number of said birefringent elements or sections that are connected together; (d) orienting a next birefringent element or section so that its PMD vector is properly aligned with respect to said total PMD vector and the frequency derivative of the PMD vector; (e) updating at least the total PMD vector and the frequency derivative of the PMD vector; and (f) repeating steps (b) through (e) for a plurality of birefringent elements or sections of the concatenation of birefringent elements or sections.