Patent ID: 8411716

Claim:
A circuit assembly for controlling an optical system to generate optical pulses, the optical system comprising a seed light source optically coupled to an amplitude modulator, the circuit assembly comprising: a control circuit for generating a pulsed seed drive signal for driving the seed light source, the control circuit further generating a plurality of logic signals in coordination with the seed drive signal, said logic signals each defining a succession of ON and OFF states and having a predetermined relative timing relationship; at least one programmable delay line, each of said at least one delay line receiving one of the logic signals for delaying said one of the logic signals to adjust said relative timing relationship; a logic gating module for combining said logic signals according to at least one logical rule, thereby providing a modulator drive signal for driving said amplitude modulator, said modulator drive signal defining a succession of ON states and OFF states determined by the ON and OFF states of the logic signals, the adjusted relative timing relationship of the logic signals and said at least one logical rule; whereby said optical system outputs one of said optical pulses at each ON state of the modulator drive signal synchronized with the passage of one of said seed optical pulses through the amplitude modulator.