Patent ID: 8064491

Claim:
An apparatus for generating short optical pulses comprising: a storage medium capable of storing optical energy; a first module for pumping optical energy into the storage medium to energize the storage medium; a second module for delivering at least one optical pulse to the pumped optical storage medium, in which rather than pumping said storage medium said optical pulse triggers a substantial depletion of all dischargeable energy from said pumped optical storage medium in an output optical pulse from the storage medium, wherein said optical pulse represents a trigger pulse, said trigger pulse is polarized, and said output optical pulse has a greater power and narrower full width at half maximum size than the trigger pulse that triggered the output optical pulse; means for controlling the polarization of said output optical pulse; optics for receiving a return optical signal in response to said output pulse; and a third module for detecting said return optical signal, wherein a portion of said trigger optical pulse persists in time at least until after the return of the returned optical signal.