Patent ID: 7203210

Claim:
A laser for providing a coherent light beam, the laser comprising: a plurality of laser diodes arranged in an array, wherein each of the plurality of laser diodes is configured to produce one of a plurality of beamlets; a spatial light modulator (SLM) configured to receive the plurality of beamlets and to adjust the phase of at least one of the plurality of beamlets in response to a control signal; a detector configured to receive at least a portion of the plurality of beamlets and to produce a feedback signal indicative of the phase of at least one of the plurality of beamlets; control electronics configured to receive the feedback signal from the detector and to produce the control signal for the spatial light modulator as a function thereof to reduce phase variations across the wavefront of the coherent light beam; and a gain medium disposed within a lasing cavity and configured to receive the coherent light beam.