High-peak-power Tm-doped double-clad fluoride fiber amplifier

A diode-pumped Tm-doped double-clad fiber-optic amplifier is reported that provides up to 5 kW of peak power at pulse durations of 30 ns and a repetition rate of 33.5 kHz. When the repetition rate is increased to 123.6 kHz, the peak power drops to 1.5 kW, while the average output power of the amplifier stays at 6.5 W with a slope efficiency of 34.9%. As an amplifier the fiber can be saturated by a very low average launched input power of only 36 mW at 1.87 microm and yields the same average output power as in a fiber laser or amplified spontaneous emission source setup for all the repetition rates investigated. The peak powers reported are to the author's knowledge the highest generated by Tm-doped fiber lasers or amplifiers at repetition rates above 1 kHz with simultaneously short pulse durations of 30 ns.