Abstract

We report on a $Q$-switched, cladding-pumped, ytterbium-doped large-mode-area fiber laser operating at 1090 nm that is capable of generating 2.3 mJ of output pulse energy at a 500-Hz repetition rate and more than 5 W of average output power at higher repetition rates in a high-brightness beam $\left(M^2=3\right)$. Using a similar fiber with a smaller core, we generated $>0.5‐\mathrm{mJ}$ pulses in a diffraction-limited beam. Our results represent a threefold increase in pulse energy over previously published values for $Q$-switched fiber lasers and firmly establish fiber lasers as compact, multiwatt, multimillijoule pulse sources with large scope for both industrial and scientific applications.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

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