Photonics Dictionary

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laser, gas -> gas laser

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although some high-power forms employ chemical reaction or gas compression and...

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...

laser-triggered switching

A process by which the ionizing capabilities of a laser beam are used to break initiate conduction between pairs of electrodes charged below the self-breakdown voltage of the insulating medium.

lensless microscopy

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...

light valve

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....

line-scan camera

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...

linear image sensor

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. Unlike area image sensors (such as CCD or CMOS sensors), which capture an...

Lorentz force

The force acting upon a charged particle as it moves in a magnetic field, proportional to the particle's charge and velocity.

Lorentz oscillator model

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as an electron) to an oscillating electric field. It is particularly employed...

machine vision system

A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...

magnetic lens

An arranged series of coils, magnets or electromagnets disposed in such a way that the resulting magnetic fields generate a Lorentz force that is used to then focus or deflect beams of rapidly moving...

magnetic spectrograph

An electron system using the effect of a constant magnetic field on electron paths to differentiate electrons that have varying velocities for the accurate measurement of the energies and intensities...

Marx generator

High-voltage, fast-discharge circuit named after its inventor, Erwin Marx. Its capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series. The voltage multiplication achieved with a Marx circuit is...

mAs

milliamperes-second - unit measure of electric charge acquired when multiplying the electric current in milliamperes (one thousandth or 10-3 of the standard unit for electric current the ampere) by the time in seconds. It is commonly used to describe the length of time that electrons are produced or passed through a given circuitry.

mass spectrograph

A device that uses electromagnetic fields to separate electrically charged particles according to their masses. As a beam of charged particles is passed through a mass spectrograph, the result is a...

mass spectrometer

A device used to measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules. It utilizes the Lorentz force generated by external magnetic field on a moving charged particle, in which the...

mass spectrometry

An instrumental technique that utilizes the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles as recorded from a mass spectrometer in order to determine the mass of a particle as well as the chemical makeup,...

mass spectrum

A spectrum that displays the distribution in mass or in mass-to-charge ratio of ionized atoms, molecules or molecular parts. Mass spectrums are typically recorded by instruments utilized in mass...

Maxwell's equations

The mathematical set of equations showing the relationship between oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are generated by an oscillating electric charge. Intrinsic to Maxwell's equations is...

microchannel plate

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle detection, imaging, spectroscopy, and night vision technology. It consists of a...