Photonics Dictionary

The process of heating and slowly cooling a solid material, like glass or metal, to stabilize its thermal, electrical or optical properties or, as in semiconductor materials, to reverse lattice...

An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of electricity between conductors or from a conductor to ground. Arc flashes...

An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. The erbium (Er) ions are introduced into the crystal...

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...

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This technique is widely used in various scientific, industrial, and medical...

The cause of some forms of laser injury in which tissue absorbs incident laser light and experiences a damaging rise in temperature. The severity of the damage is dependent on the rate of energy...

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...