A master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser transmitter system at 1047 nm wavelength using a semiconductor laser diode and a diode pumped solid state (Nd:YLF) laser (DPSSL) amplifier is described. A small signal gain of 23 dB, a near diffraction limited beam, 1 Gbit/s modulation rates and >0.6 W average power are achieved. This MOPA laser has the advantage of amplifying the modulation signal from the laser diode master oscillator (MO) with no signal degradation.