Patent ID: 7301981

Claim:
A method for controlling the temporal energy profile characteristics of laser output pulses, comprising: employing a first subresonator with a first subresonator length that imparts a rise time characteristic to a first subresonator pulse profile in response to lasing pulse initiation, the first subresonator having a first subresonator section with a first subresonator section length that contributes to the first subresonator length; employing a second subresonator with a second subresonator length that imparts a pulse width characteristic to second subresonator pulse profile in response to lasing pulse initiation, the second subresonator having a second subresonator section with a second subresonator section length that contributes to the second subresonator length, and the second subresonator length being longer than the first subresonator length; employing a common resonator subsection that is shared by the first and second subresonators to cause the characteristics imparted from the first and second subresonator pulse profiles to be expressed during a lasing pulse, the common resonator subsection having a length that contributes to both the first subresonator length and the second subresonator length; initiating the lasing pulse to express the characteristics imparted from the first and second subresonator pulse profiles such that the first and second subresonators operate during at least a partly overlapping time; and emitting a laser output pulse having the rise time characteristic imparted from the first subresonator and the pulse width characteristic imparted from the second subresonator.