10.4  kW coherently combined ultrafast fiber laser

An ultrafast laser delivering 10.4 kW average output power based on a coherent combination of 12 step-index fiber amplifiers is presented. The system emits close-to-transform-limited 254 fs pulses at an 80 MHz repetition rate, and has a high beam quality (M²≤1.2) and a low relative intensity noise of 0.56% in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1 MHz. Automated spatiotemporal alignment allows for hands-off operation.