Active tapered fibers for high peak power fiber lasers

In the paper we discuss current state of the art in the field of tapered fiber development. The best results in term of high peak and high average power achieved with this type of fibers are presented together with requirements to the tapered fiber amplifier design. The report is mainly focused on tapered fiber amplifiers operated near 1 mu m (Yb-doped tapered fibers), but also extension of this technique to 1.55 mu m spectral range is discussed.