A method of producing an active optical
waveguide having asymmetric polarization, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing an active optical
waveguide (10) comprising: (i) a transverse
refractive index profile (21) comprising a guiding region (11), an
intermediate region (13), and a non-guiding region (12); (ii) a transverse photorefractive
dopant profile (31) comprising a constant or graded photorefractive
dopant concentration within at least one of the guiding, non-guiding and intermediate regions, except that the photorefractive
dopant is not located solely in the guiding region; and (iii) exhibiting in said guiding region,
intermediate region, or both, light guiding
modes having different polarizations; and (b) exposing at least a part (10a, 10b) of the active optical
waveguide to an effective transverse illumination of light (20) reacting with the photorefractive dopant and modifying said transverse
refractive index profile; said part of the active optical waveguide being exposed to a
fluence selectively suppressing the propagation of the light guiding
modes having different polarizations so that the propagation of one mode is less suppressed than the propagation of the other mode(s). Such an active optical waveguide,
single polarization mode optical
waveguide lasers and multi-
wavelength single polarization mode optical
waveguide lasers comprising such an active optical waveguide, methods of their production, and their uses in
telecommunications, in
spectroscopy, in sensors and in absolute calibrated
laser light sources.