Fiber DFB lasers as oscillators for high-power MOPA systems

Summary form only given. Fiber Bragg grating distributed feedback (DFB) lasers in Er:silica have been demonstrated in recent years, and are now commercial products for telecom wavelengths. Some DFB lasers have also been made in Yb:silica at other wavelengths. These lasers are reliably single longitudinal mode due to narrowband cavity mirrors made of fiber Bragg gratings. We have developed oscillator systems based on DFB lasers in Yb-doped silica fiber at 1053 nm, for amplification in Nd:phosphate glass:pulsed amplifiers, part of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) fusion research laser at Livermore.