A Mueller matrix formalism for modeling polarization effects in erbium-doped fiber

The effects of erbium anisotropy in erbium-doped fiber lasers, sources, and amplifiers are examined. Starting from basic ion properties, inversion and gain equations are derived analytically to describe polarization dependencies. A novel matrix form of the Er/sup 3+/ rate equations is presented to propagate powers and polarization states. These equations are then numerically integrated and compared to experimentally observed polarization hole burning and polarization dependent gain. The theoretical predictions agree strongly with experiment in all cases.