Patent ID: 8923359

Claim:
A laser-based, remote sensing apparatus, comprising: a long cavity laser comprising: a gain medium; and a segmented mirror configured to return electro-magnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from the gain medium to the gain medium; wherein the long cavity laser is configured to establish a laser beam of the EMR between the long cavity laser and a first object in a field of view (FOV) in response to a reflection of the EMR from the first object; a detector configured to: receive EMR from the FOV, the EMR including a reflected portion of the laser beam; and detect the laser beam based on the reflected portion; and a controller coupled to the segmented mirror and the detector, and configured to signal the segmented mirror to alter a reflectivity of a portion of the segmented mirror to thereby change an energy level of the laser beam between the long cavity laser and the first object.