Pulsed laser with temporal coherence control

A laser system, comprising:

• a seed laser having a continuous wave output and operable at a first wavelength;
• a phase modulator positioned to receive laser light from the seed laser and to impart phase modulation thereto;
• and
• an optical parametric amplifier coupled to the phase modulator to receive phase-modulated laser light from the phase modulator at a first input thereof and a pump laser light at a second input thereof, and to produce an output beam having spectral characteristics of the phase-modulated laser light that is amplified in accordance with a temporal feature of the pump laser light, wherein:
• an output of the optical parametric amplifier has a lower temporal coherence compared to the seed laser,
• the laser system includes a laser cavity comprising a plurality of reflective surfaces and a gain medium positioned inside of the laser cavity to allow amplification of light that propagates through the gain medium to produce the pump laser light,
• the optical parametric amplifier is positioned inside the laser cavity, and
• one of the plurality of reflective surfaces is configured to allow the output beam of the optical parametric amplifier to exit the laser cavity.