Photonics Dictionary: S

Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves measuring and analyzing how different materials absorb, emit, or scatter light,...

A lamp that yields a nonluminous flame; used in the spectroscopic analysis of radiation emitted by a substance placed in the flame.

A semiconductor laser that operates in the infrared and that is pumped with strong pulses of radiation from a second laser. Dependent on quantum-mechanical principles, it can be tuned over a large...

A scanning process in which the greatest amount of radiation determines part of a spiral motion rotating in one direction.

Radiation emitted when a quantum mechanical system drops spontaneously from an excited level to a lower level. This radiation is emitted according to the laws of probability without regard to the...

The formula that indicates the total radiation at all wavelengths from a perfect blackbody. W Total = 5.67 x 10-12 T 4(W/cm2)

The observed time dependence of the transmittance of a step of radiation through a given medium.

Radiation similar in origin to spontaneous emission but determined by the presence of other radiation having the same frequency. Because the phase and amplitude of the stimulated wave depend on the...

A line of the Raman spectrum that fulfills Stokes' law because it possesses a wavelength that is greater than the radiation that stimulated the luminescence of the source.

Relative to radiation wavelength, the law that states that the wavelength of luminescence stimulated by radiation always surpasses that of the stimulating radiation.

Directional and coherent radiation pulses that result from an ensemble of coherently prepared states in an optical medium.

Waves that propagate along the interface between two different media without radiation with exponentially decaying evanescent fields on both sides.

Also known as Fresnel reflection. That portion of the incident radiation that is reflected from the surface of a refractive material. It is a function of the refractive index of the material. At...

A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The field components of the wave may exist (in principle) throughout space, even to...

A semiconductor laser diode that emits light perpendicular to the active region. The output radiation is taken through the surface as opposed to through a cleaved mirror.

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...