Photonics Dictionary

One of the types of change in the energy levels of molecules or atoms in a laser that can result in lasing action. Because the energy levels between rotational states are small, such lasing action is...

The term "Rydberg atom" refers to an atom in a highly excited state where one or more of its electrons are in a Rydberg orbital. A Rydberg atom is characterized by having an electron orbit that is...

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

See atomic force microscope; magnetic force microscope; near-field scanning optical microscope; scanning tunneling microscope.

A high-resolution imaging instrument that can detect and measure the positions of individual atoms on the surface of a material. A very fine conductive probe is placed at a distance of 10 to 20...

The optical energy transfer between ions of differing atoms.

A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting wafers. A photon with sufficient energy striking the cell can dislodge an...

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...

A classification of particular regularities that occur in the spectra of many atoms.

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,...

The probability that an atom in one state will move spontaneously to a lower state within a given unit of time.

Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering is a method of depositing thin films of material onto a substrate surface...

A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering targets are typically made of metals, metal alloys, or compounds...

Observed phenomenon in laser pulses in which a large number of excited electrons are created and in which multiphoton processes have produced seed electrons, and excited neutral atoms are...

(SALI) A type of spectroscopy in which neutral atoms or molecules are ionized by an excimer laser beam and then measured by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer.

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...

The emission of radiant energy in which the energy emitted originates in the thermal motion of the atoms or molecules of the source material.

A source that emits radiant energy when its molecules or atoms are thermally excited.

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. This technique is commonly employed in various...

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create high-resolution images of extremely thin samples. In a TEM, electrons are...

An observed effect of the ability of certain atomic particles to pass through a barrier that they cannot pass over because of the required energy level, based on a law of quantum mechanics that...

An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) or picoseconds (10-12 seconds). These...

Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from fluctuations in electron distribution. These forces are relatively weak...

A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are connected by chemical bonds, and these atoms are not stationary but are in...

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of space. Unlike traditional two-dimensional (2D) imaging, which provides...

The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for obtaining high-quality diffraction patterns from single crystals. This...

The series of processes used to identify and evaluate crystal structure by using crystalline solids to diffract x-rays. In the Laue method, radiation of a wide range of wavelengths is transmitted by...

The study of the arrangement of atoms in a crystal by means of x-rays.

The splitting of energy levels of an atom, ion or molecule because of a magnetic field.