Photonics Dictionary: L

A fiber optic component or system designed in such a way that it can be operated by people without specialized knowledge of the field.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

A device designed to concentrate and direct a light source by enclosing the source in it and using a concave reflector to direct the light through its only opening.

Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically a thin film or surface layer, with the objective of improving its...

A device used for measuring the height of clouds from a position on the ground. Measurement technique uses a vertically directed beam stably positioned such that scattered radiation may be detected...

A surgical device used to deliver laser light. Specifically,contact tips are made with artificially grown sapphire which is precisely cut to an orientation which permits efficient light transmission....

A laser device used to establish a location or target usually for detection by an impact source e.g. missiles and guided munitions. Laser designation sources utilize a system configuration which is...

Device that operates by interaction of incident radiation with semiconductor based material in order to produce an electrical signal or by other means, to interact with calorimetric devices which...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

Device which determines particle velocity through the measurement of scattered interference of a beam pair from a single source. The measured light is Doppler shifted which provides information...

Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over time. In the context of lasers, stability in terms of frequency or wavelength...

High power laser ablation device that by pulsed operation produces holes of controllable dimension on the scale of microns. Laser drill applications include turbine manufacturing and surface metal...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the body, particularly in the urinary and biliary systems. The term "lithotripsy"...

A laser device intended for crushing urinary tract stones so they can be flushed from the body. Light is introduced via fiber optic delivery. A common wavelength used is 2.1 microns produced by...

Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or appearance. This technique is widely used for labeling, identification, and...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

Contains the light or beam path within a laser device. The oscillator uses reflective optical components that are oriented to obtain multiple confined reflections.

Device consisting of a laser diode, beam-correcting optics and collimating optics in a single housing. Also called a collimating pen.

Handheld optical laser device containing a semiconductor or DPSS source. The output is corrected via internal collimating optics. For typical use the output is reduced to eyesafe operation power. (5...

A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It operates on the principle of measuring the time it takes for a laser beam to...

Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material, creating textures, patterns, or microstructures. This technique is...

The device, usually made of glass or a similar material, that contains the resonant cavity and optics of a gas laser.

A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and focused beams of light through the process of optical amplification based...

A type of fluorescence spectroscopy in which an excimer laser, a dye laser and a frequency-doubling device are used to detect polycyclic hydrocarbon atoms to a part-per-billion level.

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

The metal tube that maintains the optical components of a lens in proper relationship. Some lenses are mounted in metal cells, which in turn are screwed to the front and rear of a shutter or lens...

A lens is a transparent optical device that focuses or diverges light, allowing it to pass through and form an image. Lenses are commonly used in optical systems, such as cameras, telescopes,...

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and reconstructs microscopic images without the use of traditional lenses. Instead of...

A device that serves to emit light of the same wavelength as the input light, only with an increase in intensity. It may be a solid-state device comprising photoconductive and luminescent layers...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

Any device that is used to sense and measure light. See exposure meter; photoelectric exposure meter; photoelectric photometer; reflected light meter.

A device that is designed to modulate a beam of light, usually from a laser source, by acting upon the beam directly. The three general types of devices operate in an acousto-optic, electro-optic or...

A handheld, light-sensitive device that is used with a display console to directly change, measure or erase the visual information presented. Interfaced with the computer that is generating the...

With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active optical element, to convert an electrical charge image to an optical image....

A PN-PN device with incident light taking the place of gate current; three of the four semiconductor regions are available for circuit connections.

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are widely used in various applications due to their energy efficiency,...

Technology that relies on a highly efficient photodetector that can detect incoming light signals at one frequency and transmit outgoing signals at another, thus permitting the sending and receiving...

The angle subtended by two points or lines that are just far enough apart to be distinguished as separate. The ability of an optical device to resolve two points or lines is called resolving power...

The line of vision; the optical axis of a telescope or other observation system. The straight line connecting the object and the objective lens of the viewing device.

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to capture images one line or row of pixels at a time, rather than a full...

A type of recording in which the recording line remains fixed and the recording medium is fed past the recording device.

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser. There are several types, including the induction linear accelerator, the radio frequency linear accelerator and the superconducting...