Photonics Dictionary

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...

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...

Bioelectricity refers to the electrical potentials and currents generated by biological processes within living organisms. These electrical phenomena arise from the movement of ions across cell...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

A ring dye laser that uses prisms and a saturable absorber within the laser cavity to shape and shorten the pulses generated. Counterpropagating modes oscillating simultaneously in the ring...

An instrument that can preselect intervals, often in increments of 1, 10 or 100 ns, for the generation of electronic pulses by means of front-panel switches. Also called a time-delay generator.

Dual-chirped optical parametric amplification (DC-OPA) is an advanced technique in ultrafast laser technology used to amplify femtosecond laser pulses to extremely high energies while maintaining...

An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term excimer is derived from excited dimer, reflecting the nature of the gain medium...

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...

A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with great accuracy. The term "frequency comb" is often associated with the Nobel...

Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium. This method is distinct from Q-switching and mode-locking, two other common...

A discontinuous burst of laser light generated by timing or "gating'' a continuous-wave laser.

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons....

High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous medium, typically an atom or a molecule, to produce harmonics of the...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to release energy. In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical systems due to the Kerr effect. The Kerr effect is the phenomenon where the...

Laser parameters are the characteristics that define the behavior and performance of a laser. These parameters can be categorized into several groups: spatial, temporal, spectral, and operational. ...

Laser peening is a surface enhancement technique used to improve the mechanical properties of materials, particularly metals. It involves the use of high-energy laser pulses to generate shockwaves on...

Laser scanning is a technology used to create precise digital representations of physical objects or environments by capturing their surface geometry and appearance. It involves directing a laser...

Laser shock peening (LSP) is a surface treatment process used to enhance the mechanical properties and durability of materials, particularly metals. It involves the use of high-energy laser pulses to...

Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape and...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle detection, imaging, spectroscopy, and night vision technology. It consists of a...

Mode locking is a technique used in optics and laser physics to generate short pulses of light with extremely high peak powers. In mode locking, the phases of different longitudinal modes (specific...

Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or even attoseconds. This method synchronizes the phases of...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the intensity of incident light. In other words, these materials produce optical...

An optical frequency comb is a tool used for measuring frequencies with extremely high precision. It is essentially a spectrum consisting of a series of discrete, equally spaced frequency lines, much...

Optical parametric amplification (OPA) is a process in nonlinear optics where a weak signal beam is amplified by a much stronger pump beam through the nonlinear interaction in a nonlinear optical...

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is an advanced technique used in ultrafast laser systems to amplify optical pulses to extremely high intensities while maintaining their short...

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize and analyze the optical fibers' characteristics, including attenuation,...

Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves in a material induced by the absorption of light. The term "optoacoustic"...

Photoacoustic refers to the generation of acoustic (sound) waves following the absorption of light (usually laser pulses) by a material. This phenomenon occurs when light energy is absorbed by a...

Photoconductive antenna (PCA) is a semiconductor element that generates or detects high-frequency electromagnetic signals. Compact PCAs based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) or indium gallium arsenide...

A method of measuring complex sequential photosynthetic reactions by varying the pulse time and wavelength of light generated by a combination of argon-ion and dye lasers.

A means of achieving higher peak powers and more efficient harmonic generation by narrowing the pulse width and thus increasing the frequency bandwidth of the output of CW mode-locked lasers....

A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate heat in a sample. A thermal imaging system detects differences in the rates...

A pump laser is a type of laser used to provide the necessary energy to the gain medium of another laser or laser system, initiating the process of stimulated emission and producing laser light. The...

A device used to rapidly change the Q of an optical resonator. It is used in the optical resonator of a laser to prevent lasing action until a high level of inversion (optical gain and energy...

Q-switched operation, or q-switching, is a technique used in lasers to produce short and intense pulses of light. The term "Q" in q-switching stands for "quality factor," which is a measure of the...

Q-switching, short for "quenching-switching," is a technique used in lasers to generate short, high-energy pulses of light. The term "Q" refers to the quality factor of the laser cavity, which...

A laser that generates a succession of pulses at a high enough repetition rate to appear continuous. The pump source is switched on for short intervals, nominally equal to the lifetime of the...

A type of multiple-pass amplifier in which no optical leakage is allowed until a finite number of passes has occurred; at this time the entire cavity output is released as one pulse.