Analysis of polarization-dependent gain in fiber amplifiers

Polarization-dependent gain (PDG) in fiber amplifiers is studied theoretically. A mathematical model is developed by treating the dopant ions in glass host as partially anisotropic oscillators, and both the signal and the pump effects are taken into account. It is illustrated that PDG includes two components. One arises from polarization-selective excitation of the dopant ions by the pump; the other originates from polarization-selective deexcitation of the lasing ions by the saturating signal, known as polarization hole burning (PHB). PDG depends strongly on the operating state of the amplifiers such as the level of gain compression, the anisotropy of the dopant ions, and the relative polarization orientations of the signal and the pump. In a small-signal regime, PDG is induced only by the pump while in large-signal condition it is the sum of the two components. The good agreement between the theoretical calculations and the reported results confirms the validity of the model.