Photonics Dictionary

Charged frozen pellets that are rapidly bombarded with a focused high-power laser to form a dense plasma that can be heated and sustained with neutral beams.

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The design of double-clad fibers allows them to be used in various...

The effect discovered by Faraday in 1845 whereby nonoptically active materials or substances become capable of rotating the polarization plane of polarized radiation (light) passed through them when...

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of lasers. The primary function of the laser crystal is to amplify light by...

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power laser to selectively fuse or melt layers of powdered material to build up a...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

The phenomenon that makes nonlinear the mathematical expression for the electrical polarization of a medium through which lightwaves are passing. Characterizes high-power lasers principally;...

A saturated compound of carbon and hydrogen used as a liquid coating material for optical components in high-power laser applications. See liquid coating.

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....

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

A multilayer antireflective thin-film coating, so called because its reflectance rises steeply at wavelengths above and below a narrow band at zero. The v-coat is particularly useful in high-power...

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...