Photonics Dictionary: M

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...

An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or 'microwave laser' was the first device to produce coherent electromagnetic waves,...

Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used for various medical applications. These lasers emit light in the form of...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

An instrument that produces an intense, tightly focused beam of ions to stimulate emissions from a minute section of a sample undergoing spectroscopic analysis. The ion beams found in microprobes are...

1. The characteristic of how light propagates through a waveguide that can be designated by a radiation pattern in a plane transverse to the direction of travel. 2. The state of an oscillating system...

Mode locking is a technique used in optics and laser physics to generate short pulses of light with extremely high peak powers. In mode locking, the phases of different longitudinal modes (specific...

Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or even attoseconds. This method synchronizes the phases of...

A zone plate produced by a computer and having a binary structure that can be etched into a chromium or quartz layer. It often is used in laser machining, in which the machining of small holes with...

In a laser diode, the photocurrent produced by a photodiode that detects the emission from the rear facet of the semiconductor chip. It can be used to provide feedback control of the forward current...

A multiline laser system refers to a type of laser that is capable of emitting multiple discrete wavelengths or spectral lines simultaneously. Unlike single-line lasers, which produce radiation at a...

A laser that produces emission in two or more transverse or longitudinal modes.

A laser having a Q-switching method that allows separate parallel volumes of the lasing material to act independently of each other and produce several separate beams. It is useful in high-speed...