  We report the design and demonstration of novel 2 $\mu$m band Watt-level
fiber amplifiers, fiber lasers, and wideband ASE sources that are pumped with
broad spectrum Watt-level ASE sources instead of conventional fiber laser
pumps. We show good agreement between the simulations and experimental results
for the performance of a single-stage Ho-doped fiber amplifier at 2050nm
wavelength pumped by a 50 nm broadband Tm-doped ASE source centered at 1860 nm.
Next, we show that the new ASE pumping approach works effectively for a two
-stage Ho-doped fiber amplifier as for a single stage Ho-doped fiber amplifier.
Then, we demonstrate successfully the pumping of a Tm-doped fiber laser at 2039
nm using an ASE source centered at 1550 nm. Finally, we produce a novel 265 nm
wide broadband ASE source at 2 $\mu$m by concatenating Tm and Ho ASE sources.
Our ASE-based pumping approach is simple and versatile compared to the standard
laser based pumping means, and leads to similar device performance.
