A system for producing a presettable polarization mode dispersion includes an
initial
polarization splitter/combiner element, which divides the incoming signal into
two signals in vertical polarization alignment to one another, a delaying unit,
which is installed in one of the signal paths of the two split signals, and a second
polarization splitter/combiner element, which reunites the two separated signals.
The invention is distinguished in that, for the production of a second-order polarization
mode dispersion, an element is provided which twists the polarization main axles
ahead of and behind the element toward one another by an appropriate angle, and
that the light signal emitted from this element is fed into a device, which likewise
consists of a polarization splitter/combiner element, a delaying path, and an additional
polarization splitter/combiner element for bringing the two signal paths back together.
