A device for coupling multimode pump light and a laser signal into or out
of a cladding-pumped fibre laser is disclosed, comprising an output
optical fibre, a substantially un-tapered feed-through optical fibre, an
annular waveguide having a tapered section, and a plurality of multimode
pump fibres such that: the signal feed-through fibre is located within
the annular waveguide; the signal feed-through fibre is fused into the
annular waveguide in the tapered section so that the annular waveguide
becomes an additional cladding layer of the feed-through fibre; the end
of the feed-through fibre that is fused into the annular waveguide is
optically coupled to the output optical fibre; the multimode pump fibres
are optically coupled to the annular waveguide in the un-tapered section.
Methods of forming the device are also disclosed.