Photonics Dictionary

An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...

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...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

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...

An f-theta lens, also known as an f-theta scan lens or simply an f-theta lens system, is a specialized optical component used in laser scanning systems, particularly in laser marking, engraving, and...

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...

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....

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...

A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The name Ti:sapphire comes from the combination of titanium (Ti) as the dopant...

An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) or picoseconds (10-12 seconds). These...