Definitions

A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture detailed information about the shape, contour, or profile of an object in two...

A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and measure the three-dimensional shape or profile of an object or a scene. These...

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

3D scanners are devices used to capture the three-dimensional shape and characteristics of physical objects or environments. They utilize various technologies to gather data about the geometry,...

The ablation threshold refers to the minimum amount of energy, such as laser energy or intense radiation, required to remove material from a surface through ablation. Ablation itself is the process...

Ablative photodecomposition refers to a process where a material is broken down or decomposed due to exposure to intense light, typically laser light. In this process, the photons from the laser...

An ablative wall flashlamp typically refers to a type of flashlamp used in certain high-energy laser systems. Components include: Flashlamp: This is a device that produces an intense pulse...

An absorbing wedge is an optical device used to control the intensity of light passing through it by absorbing a portion of the light. It is typically used in experiments and optical systems where...

An absorption hologram is a type of hologram in which the image is formed by variations in the absorption of light within the recording medium. Unlike traditional holograms that rely primarily on...

An absorption lens is a type of optical lens that not only focuses or diverges light but also significantly absorbs certain wavelengths of the incident light. This dual function makes it different...

Accessible emission typically refers to the portion of emitted radiation (light, particles, etc.) from a source that can be effectively detected, measured, or utilized by an observer or device. This...

Accessible radiation refers to the portion of radiation from a source that can be reached or detected by humans, instruments, or devices under specific conditions of use. This term is often used in...

Acousto-optic deflection refers to a phenomenon where the trajectory of light is altered by acoustic waves propagating through a material. This effect is utilized in acousto-optic devices, which are...

An acousto-optic deflector (AOD) is a type of device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to control the direction of light beams. It operates by modulating the refractive index of an optically...

Acousto-optic diffraction refers to the process where light passing through an optically transparent material is diffracted due to the modulation of its refractive index by an acoustic wave...

Acousto-optic modulation refers to the process of using acoustic waves to modulate the properties of light passing through an optically transparent material. This modulation occurs due to the...

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the acousto-optic effect to modulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, or polarization of a laser beam or other coherent light source. It...

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate or control the intensity, frequency, phase, or direction of laser beams. It...

Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that deals with the interaction of sound waves (acoustic waves) and light waves (optical waves) within a medium. It primarily focuses on phenomena where acoustic...

The acousto-photorefractive effect refers to a phenomenon in which acoustic waves (sound waves) interact with light waves (photons) within a photorefractive material, resulting in changes in the...

An active medium is a material or substance used in various optical devices and systems, where it plays a critical role in amplifying light or producing laser beams through the process of stimulated...

In the context of a laser diode, the active region is a critical part of the device where the primary light generation occurs. Laser diode active region: The active region in a laser diode is...

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of atmospheric distortions. The Earth's atmosphere can cause light passing through it...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional objects by adding material layer by layer. This is in contrast to...

Adiabatic laser colorimetry is a technique used to measure the color of materials based on the principle of adiabatic demagnetization. Principle: Adiabatic laser colorimetry relies on the...

A visible laser beam generated coaxially with an infrared or other invisible laser beam to aid in its positioning.

A host crystal for chromium that emits pulsed or continuous-wave laser light, tunable from about 720 to 790 nm.

An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite (BeAl2O4:Cr3+). This crystal is capable of emitting laser light in the...

A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.

A 2-million W, 2.7-µm-wavelength hydrogen-fluoride laser used as a directed energy weapon.

An ammonia maser is a device that amplifies microwave radiation using ammonia gas molecules in a process analogous to how lasers amplify visible light through stimulated emission of radiation. The...

Charged frozen pellets that are rapidly bombarded with a focused high-power laser to form a dense plasma that can be heated and sustained with neutral beams.

Broadband radiation emitted by a laser that does not transmit through the optical element. It can be removed by filtering.

In digital data transmission, the representation of a bit by change in amplitude of the outgoing signal. Amplitude shift keying (ASK) is less sensitive than phase-shift keying, but can tolerate...

A laser radar application in which a sequence of direct measurements of target position is fed into a tracking filter to produce refined estimates of both present and future target positions.

A waveguide that has a core with a lower refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding. This structure can limit the power of the transmitted beam by removing unwanted radiation, for...

An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to minimize unwanted reflections and increase the transmission of light...

gas laser using ionized argon as the active medium and applying electronic excitation in order to produce the laser light

The plot that expresses a reaction rate vs. the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Often used to describe the thermal characteristics of laser applications such as ablation or annealing.

An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical lenses, which have a constant curvature across their surfaces, aspheric lenses...

An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical surface profile. Unlike traditional spherical mirrors, which have a curved...

A gas, such as oxygen, that improves the speed and efficiency of a laser cutter or welder when applied to the work surface, or an inert gas, such as argon, that helps to clean or shield the work...

Formulaic compensation to correct laser ranging data for the effects of horizontal refractivity gradients; it requires the horizontal pressure and temperature gradient at laser sites, which are...

Irregularities and disturbances in the atmosphere that are of particular interest because they induce random temporal and spatial phase and amplitude fluctuations that destroy the optical quality and...

The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other optical techniques with atoms instead of photons. In this process, particles...

An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for measuring time. The most common type of atomic clock uses the vibrations of...

Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of attoseconds (1 attosecond = 10-18 seconds). These ultrafast light pulses are in...

Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows scientists to study the dynamics of electronic processes occurring on extremely...

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...