A chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system and method is described wherein
the pulse is stretched using multiple passes through a Bragg grating or
compressed using multiple passes through a Bragg grating. A switch may be
used to control the number of passes through the Bragg grating, thus,
tuning the compressed or the stretched pulse width. The pulse may be
directed through an amplifier between the multiple passes through the
Bragg grating to apply amplification to the stretched pulse multiple
times. The Bragg grating may include a fiber Bragg grating, a volume
Bragg grating, or a Bragg waveguide.