High power Q-switched erbium doped fiber laser

The design rules and experiments with the Q-switched Er/sup 3+/ fiber laser are presented. The optimization of the fiber parameters resulted in 230 W/8 ns pulses for 250 mW of green pumping power, the highest peak power combined with such short pulses ever demonstrated for this type of laser. Self-mode-locked operation is also reported. The performance of the Q-switched laser is analyzed as a function of fiber length, pulse repetition rate, and pumping conditions.<
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