0.1 mJ pulses from a passively Q-switched fiber source

Summary form only given. Fiber laser systems based on erbium-doped fibers are compact and stable sources of Q-switched pulses with an excellent spatial mode profile and the potential for large tunability. Actively Q-switched pulse energies up to 0.8 mJ have been obtained using advanced fiber designs with large mode areas. Passive Q-switching allows for more compact and inexpensive systems. However, the available pulse energy is limited by the typically small modulation depths achievable. We demonstrate high pulse energies despite these limitations, by using multiple bounces on the same SESAM.