Influence of light polarization on dynamics of continuous-wave-pumped Raman fiber lasers.

The dynamical behavior of cw-pumped Raman fiber lasers is studied experimentally. Lasers made of standard single-mode fibers are found to present unstable behaviors depending on the states of polarization of the Stokes and pump fields. On the contrary, lasers made of polarization-maintaining fibers are found to be always stable. The observed behaviors suggest that birefringence- and Kerr-induced changes in polarization states dramatically affect Raman fiber lasers dynamics.