Photonics Dictionary

A cold-cathode tube containing neon and designed to visually determine a potential difference or field.

An electron tube containing neon gas that uses the transmission of an electric current through the gas to ionize the neon and produce a luminous red discharge.

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates based on the principle of stimulated emission of photons from excited helium...

A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.

In present usage, especially for spectroscopic identification, an arc between electrodes that serves as a radiation source. Gas tubes that contain mercury vapor and mixtures of helium, neon and argon...

A method of lasing in which free electrons in a laser-produced plasma collide with neonlike ions to excite electrons to states that decay at different speeds, producing a population inversion.

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and argon lamps are examples of electric-discharge lamps.

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 active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the amplification of light through the process of stimulated emission. These...

A monitoring technique used to measure the oxygen saturation levels in the brains of patients, commonly in operating room and neonatal intensive care unit settings. The technique, which is based on...

A monatomic, chemically inert gas such as argon, neon, krypton and xenon.

Although low in sensitivity (approximately 10-7 m for helium-neon lasers), this holographic technique permits quantitative assessment of entire vibratory patterns of given structures in a single...