We demonstrate what we believe is the first compact laser system for g
enerating ultrashort microjoule-energy optical pulses. Linearly chirpe
d pulses from monolithic tunable Bragg-reflection laser diodes were am
plified in a diode-pumped two-stage erbium-doped fiber amplifier and c
ompressed with a grating-pair compressor. The laser diodes had their e
mission wavelengths at 1.538 and 1.562 mum. The highest pulse energies
obtained were 2 muJ at the repetition frequencies of 1-10 kHz and wer
e at the saturation energy level of the fiber amplifier. The shortest
duration of compressed pulses is 1.8 ps.