US Patent 7724787 Method and system for tunable pulsed laser source

A tunable pulsed laser source comprising a seed source adapted to generate a seed signal and an optical circulator. The optical circulator includes a first port coupled to the seed source, a second port, and a third port. The laser source also includes an amplitude modulator characterized by a first side and a second side. The first side is coupled to the second port of the optical circulator. The laser source further includes a first optical amplifier characterized by an input end and a reflective end including a spectral-domain reflectance filter. The input end is coupled to the second side of the amplitude modulator. Moreover, the laser source includes a second optical amplifier coupled to the third port of the optical circulator.