Abstract
An average power as high as 60 W with 73 W of pumping was achieved for an ytterbium-doped fibre-based dual-stage amplifier (MOFA) system seeded by a diode-pumped solid-state (DPss) laser. The corresponding optical conversion efficiency is 80%. The laser system generates a steady pulse train with a pulse width of 11 ps at a repetition rate of 250 MHz or a peak power of 21.8 kW. Moreover, the output beam quality M 2 ≈ 1.6. The length and pumping power for the Yb-doped fibres were optimized to suppress stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) while maintaining desirable output characteristics. © 2013 Astro Ltd.