US Patent 7903695 Optical fiber laser and exciting method using same

An optical fiber laser, according to the present invention, has an optical fiber including a core to which a rare earth element is added and a clad disposed around the core, and also has an excitation light source for emitting excitation light incident on a side of the optical fiber. The optical fiber has a corrugated shape on the outer circumference of the clad along the longitudinal direction thereof; and the optical fiber is wound in a spiral form and is bundled in such a way that adjacent sides of the clad are brought into contact with one another.