Photonics Dictionary

Any form of laser; e.g., a dye laser, having an output that can be adjusted over a wide range of wavelengths. Normally the range is about 70 nm wide.

A bulk crystalline optic which permits the propagation of light through a volume of index altered material. The variation in refractive index along the material volume is due to a piezoelectric...

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

Certain color centers in the alkali halides have been optically pumped to produce efficient tunable pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) lasers emitting in the range of 0.8 to 3.3 µm.

A laser using a dye solution as its active medium. Its output is a short pulse of broad spectral content and its achievable gain is high. Dye lasers function at room temperature. Synchronous pumping...

A maser that relies on the fact that electrons in orbital motion in high-magnetic fields will emit energy at the cyclotron frequency. The transfer of energy is from the bunching of the electrons by...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...

A pulsed dye laser in which the excitation is provided by means of a flashlamp. Output is tunable from 335 to 850 nm, with peak power up to 7000 kW.

A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a beam of accelerated electrons as the lasing medium. Unlike traditional...

A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is composed of layers of gallium, aluminum, and arsenic, hence...

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for water. This network structure allows hydrogels to absorb and retain large...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...

A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The isotopic species may then be measured using a time of flight mass spectrometer....

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems that integrate the manipulation of light and fluids. This field focuses on...

A device using a parametric amplifier inside a resonant optical cavity to generate a frequency-tunable coherent beam of light from an intense laser beam of fixed frequency. This device is tuned by...

A laser with a gain medium consisting of an organic dye, which is carbon-based. The dye is mixed with a solvent, allowing the molecules to diffuse evenly throughout the liquid. The dye medium is...

A device that uses nematic liquid crystals sandwiched between fused silica substrates to change the phase of polarized light. The cell is tunable from half-wave to zero retardation because variation...

Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the near-infrared or even mid-infrared regions of the electromagnetic...

A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its emission wavelength over time. This continuous wavelength tuning is achieved...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or positrons, in a closed, circular or elliptical path. The name synchrotron...