Patent ID: 6947454

Claim:
In a laser-based system that generates pulsed laser emission and includes an extra-cavity optical modulator for providing in response to control commands an output transmitting state that permits laser output to propagate toward a target in the form of working laser output and an output blocking state that predominantly prevents working laser output from propagating toward the target, the laser system applying during its operation varying thermal load conditions to the extra-cavity optical modulator as a consequence of nonuniform intervals between successive output transmitting states, the varying load conditions causing undesirable distortion of the working laser output, a method of reducing the load variation and the undesirable distortion of the working laser output, comprising: generating a series of laser outputs at a substantially constant laser output repetition rate in which mutually adjacent ones of the laser outputs are separated from each other by generally uniform laser output intervals; applying RF pulses to the extra-cavity optical modulator to produce a series of output transmitting states at an RF pulse repetition rate in which mutually adjacent ones of the output transmitting states are separated from each other by RF pulse intervals of sufficient uniformity to maintain variations of thermal loading of the extra-cavity optical modulator to within a preassigned operational tolerance; and timing the production of the RF pulses and the generation of the laser outputs in response to control commands to achieve noncoincidence of an output transmitting state and a corresponding laser output during a noncoincident RF pulse to prevent working laser output and to achieve coincidence of an output transmitting state and a corresponding laser output during a coincident RF pulse to transmit working laser output to achieve impingement of targets at different working laser output intervals.