High-power, high-brightness, mJ Q-switched ytterbium-doped fibre laser

A simple diode-pumped, Q-switched fibre laser is reported based on large mode area ytterbium-doped fibre capable of producing pulses with a high beam quality (M-2 = 1.1), a duration of similar to40 ns and energies as high as 1.2 mJ at a repetition rate of 10 kHz. This combination of desirable beam qualities makes the source attractive for a range of industrial applications currently serviced by conventional bulk crystal/glass based Q-switched laser systems.