A doughnut-shaped beam was generated with polymer clad fibers (PCFs), and their cladding layers were doped with a laser dye. Doping was performed using dye vapor in a closed vacuum. The doughnut-shaped beam was the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from the doped cladding layer, and was observed only by coaxial pumping and not by side pumping. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.