Patent ID: 7010195

Claim:
An optical element for providing a tunable mount of polarization dependent loss to an optical signal passing therethrough, said element comprising a section of optical fiber including at least one highly tilted optical grating formed in the core region thereof; a first rotation element disposed to mechanically hold a first end of the section of optical fiber, said first rotation element for imparting a degree of rotation through a first angle θ 1 to said first end of said optical fiber section; and a second rotation element disposed to mechanically hold a second, opposite end of said section of optical fiber, said second rotation element for imparting a degree of rotation through a second angle θ 2 to said second, opposite end of said optical fiber section, wherein the direction and degree of rotation associated with said first and second angles θ 1 and θ 2 are controlled to provide a desired degree of tuning to control polarization dependent loss.