Abstract: A line of laser light is produced having a uniform intensity over an area of ten centimeters by one centimeter and having an energy density of several J/cm.sup.2. A grating forms from a laser beam several divergent beams of nearly equal intensity and a converging lens collimates the beams into slightly overlapping paths to produce a uniform line of light in one plane. A laser amplifier in a flat plate configuration in that plane includes a nested series of laser rods of triangular cross-section which are pumped by a plurality of flashlamps to amplify the line of light and produce an intense uniform line of laser light.