Extremely robust femtosecond written fiber Bragg gratings for an ytterbium-doped fiber oscillator with 5 kW output power

We present highly robust fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in passive large-mode-area fibers for kilowatt fiber laser systems. The gratings were inscribed directly through the fiber coating using near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses and then implemented in an all-fiber ytterbium-doped single-mode oscillator setup reaching up to 5 kW signal output power. The untreated cooled FBGs showed thermal coefficients as low as 1 K kW−1, proving excellent qualification for the implementation into robust high-power fiber laser setups.