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There are four different laser operating modes: continuous wave D, pulse I, giant pulse R and ultra-short pulse M. The distinction is made by the duration of the radiation and the pulse duration. The reason for the distinction is that the interaction between laser radiation and matter depends not only on the wavelength, but also on the irradiance and the duration of action.

A laser is an arrangement in which a so-called pump delivers energy to the laser medium so that its electrons are transported to a higher energy level and the increase in energy can be called up again in a targeted manner. If the electrons fall back in an orderly manner to a lower energy level, the energy difference can be released in the form of photons. If this process is implemented in a resonator as an amplification process, the photon stream can achieve very high power densities. The laser is often referred to as an overdriven amplifier, which turns it into a transmitter; hence the name laser oscillator.