A compensator for the effects of high-order polarization mode dispersion in optical fibers

We present a polarization mode dispersion compensator for the rotation of the principal states with frequency. This compensator requires only two control elements more than existing first-order compensators. These are the position of one polarization controller and the setting of a single delay. With the proposed scheme, compensation for first order can be decoupled from the compensation for higher orders and controlled independently. The effect of the compensator on signal transmission is evaluated with extensive numerical simulations.