I have written this book to fill a void between theory and practice, a void that
I perceived while conducting my own research and development of components
and instruments over the last five years. In the chapters that follow I have
pulled materials from the technical and patent literature that are relevant
to the understanding and practice of polarization optics in telecommunications,
material that is often known by the respective experts in industry and
academia but is rarely if ever found in one place. By bringing this material
into one monograph, and by applying a single formalism throughout, I hope to
create a “base level” upon which future research and development can grow.