Microjoule-level all-polarization-maintaining femtosecond fiber source

We report on a high-power, high-energy femtosecond fiber source based on direct amplification of parabolic pulses from an environmentally stable passively mode-locked fiber oscillator in an Yb-doped single-polarization photonic crystal fiber. The special pulse shape allows for the generation of high-quality femtosecond pulses beyond nonlinearity limits. The system delivers a pulse energy of 1.2 mu J (21 W average power) at a repetition rate of 17 MHz and a pulse duration of 240 fs in a linearly polarized beam with diffraction-limited quality. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.