Patent ID: 8254015

Claim:
A laser system for providing an output light beam having a target spatial pattern, the laser system comprising: a light generating module generating an input light beam having a spectral profile; a spectral tailoring module for providing a spectrally tailored light beam by tailoring the spectral profile of said input light beam, the spectral tailoring module comprising at least one phase modulator imposing on said input light beam a controllable phase modulation modifying the spectral profile thereof; a dispersion module disposed downstream the spectral tailoring module and receiving the spectrally tailored light beam therethrough, the dispersion module comprising at least one spatially-dispersive element, the at least one spatially-dispersive element having dispersion characteristics dispersing the spectrally tailored light beam to provide an output light beam having a spatial pattern which is a function of the spectral profile of the spectrally tailored light beam, wherein the phase modulation is selected in view of the spectral profile of the input light beam and of the dispersion characteristics of the at least one spatially-dispersive element so that the spatial pattern of said output light beam matches the target spatial pattern therefor.