Maximizing energy extraction from Er/sup 3+//Yb/sup 3+/ doped fiber amplifier in shaped microsecond pulses

A new pulse shaping technique was developed for maximizing the energy of /spl sim/1 /spl mu/s pulses amplified in a double cladding fiber amplifier. Stimulated Brillouin scattering was avoided; the nearly square amplified pulses reached 20 /spl mu/J energy.