Abstract

We present a vector theory of four-wave mixing in optical fibers and use it to discuss the effect of polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) on the performance of parametric amplifiers and wavelength converters. We show that PMD distorts the gain spectrum and makes it less uniform than that expected in the absence of residual birefringence. PMD also induces large fluctuations in the amplified or wavelength-converted signal.

© 2004 Optical Society of America

Polarization mode dispersion–induced fluctuations during Raman amplifications in optical fibers

Q. Lin and Govind P. Agrawal
Opt. Lett. 27(24) 2194-2196 (2002)

Statistics of polarization-dependent gain in fiber-based Raman amplifiers

Q. Lin and Govind P. Agrawal
Opt. Lett. 28(4) 227-229 (2003)

Noise-figure limit of fiber-optical parametric amplifiers and wavelength converters: experimental investigation

Renyong Tang, Paul L. Voss, Jacob Lasri, Preetpaul Devgan, and Prem Kumar
Opt. Lett. 29(20) 2372-2374 (2004)

Statistics of polarization mode dispersion–induced gain fluctuations in Raman amplified optical transmissions

Alexandre Bessa dos Santos and Jean Pierre von der Weid
Opt. Lett. 29(12) 1324-1326 (2004)

Vector theory of four-wave mixing: polarization effects in fiber-optic parametric amplifiers

Qiang Lin and Govind P. Agrawal
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 21(6) 1216-1224 (2004)