An ultra-short pulsed laser system comprises an optical combiner, optical amplifier, optical pulse compressor, and optical separator. The optical combiner is configured to combine a primary optical pulse with a secondary optical signal to generate a combined optical signal. The primary optical pulse and the secondary optical signal have a distinguishable characteristic. The optical amplifier is configured to optically amplify the combined optical signal. The optical pulse compressor is configured to compress at least the primary optical pulse contained within the optically amplified combined optical signal and output a compressed combined optical signal. The optical separator is configured to separate the compressed combined optical signal into an output primary optical pulse and an output secondary optical signal according to the distinguishable characteristic.