Comparison of high power large mode area and single mode 1908nm Tm-doped fiber lasers

We compare large mode area (LMA) and single-mode (SM) double-clad fiber geometries for use in high power 1908nm fiber lasers. With a simple end-pumped architecture, we have generated 100W of 1908nm power with LMA fiber at 40% optical efficiency and 117W at 52.2% optical efficiency with single-mode fiber. We show the LMA fiber is capable of generating >200W and the SM fiber is capable of >300W at 1908nm. In all cases, the fiber lasers are monolithic power-oscillators with no free-space coupling.