A passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser comprising a uni-directional fiber loop and a bi-directional fiber loop mirror coupled together by a 2×2 central coupler to create a figure-eight configuration, the uni-directional fiber loop comprising: a section of rare-earth doped fiber; a section of single mode fiber coupled to the section of rare-earth doped fiber to form a fiber loop; an input coupler disposed at an input termination of the section of rare-earth doped fiber for introducing a pump beam into the rare-earth doped fiber for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough; an output coupler disposed along the section of single mode fiber for out-coupling optical pulses created by the passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser; and a bandpass filter disposed along the section of single mode fiber; the bi-directional fiber loop mirror comprising: a section of single mode fiber; and a section of Raman fiber coupled to the section of single mode fiber to form a loop mirror, the section of Raman fiber having a predetermined length L selected to impart a known dispersion value to the optical signal propagating therethrough; the 2x2 central coupler defined by a coupling ratio, characterized in that the figure-eight fiber laser is configured to self-start in a low noise mode by controlling one or more operating parameters selected from the group consisting of: the coupling ratio of the 2×2 central coupler, the coupling ratio of the output coupler, an accumulated, group velocity dispersion, GVD, of the figure-eight fiber laser based upon the accumulated dispersion associated with the sections of single mode fiber (28, 34) and the Raman fiber, and characteristics of the bandpass filter, wherein the 2×2 central coupler is configured to exhibit a coupling ratio within the range of 0.17 to 0.23, the output coupler is configured to exhibit a coupling ratio within the range of 0.35 to 0.55, and the GVD is within the range of 0.27 to 0.30 ps 2. a uni-directional fiber loop and a bi-directional fiber loop mirror coupled together by a 2×2 central coupler to create a figure-eight configuration, the uni-directional fiber loop comprising: a section of rare-earth doped fiber; a section of single mode fiber coupled to the section of rare-earth doped fiber to form a fiber loop; an input coupler disposed at an input termination of the section of rare-earth doped fiber for introducing a pump beam into the rare-earth doped fiber for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough; an output coupler disposed along the section of single mode fiber for out-coupling optical pulses created by the passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser; and a bandpass filter disposed along the section of single mode fiber; a section of rare-earth doped fiber; a section of single mode fiber coupled to the section of rare-earth doped fiber to form a fiber loop; an input coupler disposed at an input termination of the section of rare-earth doped fiber for introducing a pump beam into the rare-earth doped fiber for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough; an output coupler disposed along the section of single mode fiber for out-coupling optical pulses created by the passively modelocked figure-eight fiber laser; and a bandpass filter disposed along the section of single mode fiber; the bi-directional fiber loop mirror comprising: a section of single mode fiber; and a section of Raman fiber coupled to the section of single mode fiber to form a loop mirror, the section of Raman fiber having a predetermined length L selected to impart a known dispersion value to the optical signal propagating therethrough; a section of single mode fiber; and a section of Raman fiber coupled to the section of single mode fiber to form a loop mirror, the section of Raman fiber having a predetermined length L selected to impart a known dispersion value to the optical signal propagating therethrough; the 2x2 central coupler defined by a coupling ratio, characterized in that the figure-eight fiber laser is configured to self-start in a low noise mode by controlling one or more operating parameters selected from the group consisting of: the coupling ratio of the 2×2 central coupler, the coupling ratio of the output coupler, an accumulated, group velocity dispersion, GVD, of the figure-eight fiber laser based upon the accumulated dispersion associated with the sections of single mode fiber (28, 34) and the Raman fiber, and characteristics of the bandpass filter, wherein the 2×2 central coupler is configured to exhibit a coupling ratio within the range of 0.17 to 0.23, the output coupler is configured to exhibit a coupling ratio within the range of 0.35 to 0.55, and the GVD is within the range of 0.27 to 0.30 ps 2.