Abstract
Based on a previously developed polarization component method, a phenomenological model is constructed for the generation of polarized radiation in single-mode semiconductor lasers and applied to polarization switching. This model gives a good description of the experimentally observed features of the polarization process. At the same time, a number of effects related to the polarization switching rate, hysteresis characteristics, and polarization switching during optical injection are interpreted anew in terms of the formation dynamics of the laser radiation.