ABSTRACT
Rapid development of ultrafast technology within the last several years has established a number of important practical applications and, consequently, produced a strong demand for practical turnkey femtosecond laser systems. This demand has been the dominant force driving the recent development of ultrashort-pulse lasers. An important part of this development has been an emergence of a new generation of ultrashort pulse lasers, based on the use of optical fibers as the gain medium. Technological advantages of fibers are apparent in their intrinsic robustness and compactness, high diode-pumping efficiencies, and resilience to thermal effects, thus making fiber-based systems prime candidates from developing highly manufacturable and reliable systems.
