  We demonstrate a fiber system which amplifies and compresses pulses from a
gain-switched diode. A Mamyshev regenerator shortens the pulses and improves
their coherence, enabling subsequent amplification by parabolic pre-shaping. As
a result, we are able to control nonlinear effects and generate nearly
transform-limited, 140-fs pulses with 13-MW peak power---an order-of-magnitude
improvement over previous gain-switched diode sources. Seeding with a
gain-switched diode results in random fluctuations of 2% in the pulse energy,
which future work using known techniques may ameliorate. Further development
may allow such systems to compete directly with sources based on modelocked
oscillators in some applications while enjoying unparalleled robustness and
repetition rate control.
