Photonics Dictionary: R

A gas laser in which the electrodes are mounted perpendicular to the optical resonator.

A flexible fiber cable with a small diameter that transports light from the excitation laser to the target. Used in Raman spectroscopy, the probe is capable of obtaining high-quality data at high...

1. An optical distance finder that depends on triangulation of two convergent beams on an object from disparate view points. 2. A device that depends on the measurement of time of wave travel from an...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally introduced into the crystal lattice of a material to modify its properties....

The inherent laser amplitude noise relative to the average optical power produced by the laser; the RIN decreases rapidly as current is increased.

A robotic process commonly employed by automakers that enables high-speed and flexible production throughput by using swiveling optics for precise beam positioning.

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...

Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly parallel to the direction from which it originated. This occurs due to the...

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their source, regardless of the direction from which the light approaches. Unlike...

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the direction of a laser beam or other optical beam by independently rotating two...

Ability of a laser to resist variations in output power caused when it is slowly rotated about its optical or symmetrical axis.

The optically pumped, solid-state laser that uses sapphire as the host lattice and chromium as the active ion. The emission takes place in the red portion of the spectrum.

A Rugate filter is a type of optical filter that is designed to have a continuously varying refractive index profile throughout its thickness, rather than the discrete layers found in traditional...