A femtosecond laser system for ophthalmic applications employs a number of chirped mirrors (CM1-CM4) in the laser beam delivery system between the laser head (10) and the objective lens (17). The chirped mirrors (CM1-CM4) perform the dual function of both turning the laser beam in desired directions and compensating for beam broadening due to group delay dispersion (GDD) of the optical elements of the system. Each chirped mirror (CM1-CM4) reflects the laser beam only once. Four chirped mirrors (CM1-CM4) are used, each providing up to -5000 fs