A fiber laser cavity that includes a laser gain medium for receiving an optical input projection from a laser pump, wherein the laser cavity further includes a normal dispersion fiber segment with a .beta.''>0 where .beta.'' representing a fiber dispersion, and an anomalous dispersion fiber segment with the .beta.''<0 for generating a net anomalous dispersion for balancing a self-phase modulation (SPM) and a dispersion induced pulse broadening/compression in the fiber laser cavity for generating an output laser with a transform-limited pulse shape wherein the segment with the anomalous dispersion further includes a Photonic Crystal (PC), a Photonic Bandgap (PBG) or a higher order mode (HOM) fiber.