Stable relaxation-oscillation Er/sup 3+/-doped fiber laser

We demonstrate a simple method to produce high-energy pulses with peak powers up to 100 times their average power and with duration on the order of 1 μs using the synchronization of relaxation oscillations by drive current modulation of the intracavity pump laser diode. The forced sustained relaxation oscillations are shown to depend on wavelength, and the frequency locking curve exhibits a strong asymmetry with hysteresis behavior.