Patent ID: 6907199

Claim:
A method for compensating for polarization mode and chromatic dispersion of an incoming optical communications signal, the method comprising the steps of: a. orienting a state of polarization of the incoming optical communications signal with respect to axes of a polarization splitter; b. splitting the communications signal into a first and a second orthogonal states of polarization at a split point; c. directing the first of the polarization states to a first birefringent optical waveguide having a first chirped grating having a first reference reflection point; d. directing the second of the polarization states to a second birefringent optical waveguide having a second chirped grating having a chirp pattern substantially similar to that of the first chirped grating and having a second reference reflection point; e. adjustably varying the optical path length from the second reflection point to the split point to compensate for polarization dispersion between the first and second states of polarization; f. recombining the first and second polarization states into a recombined signal; and g. sending the recombined signal through a variable chromatic/2 nd order PMD compensator.