Photonics Dictionary: I

Fluorescence formed when atoms of one element collide with excited atoms of another.

An alien, electrically charged atomic system in a solid; an ion substituted for the constituent atom or ion in a crystal lattice, or located in an interstitial site in the crystal.

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to release energy. In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...

Broadening of a laser's spectral linewidth when the resonance frequencies of the atoms (or molecules) of the medium are not homogeneous on the same transition. An example is Doppler broadening.

An atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons and, as a result, carries a negative or positive charge.

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...

The amount of energy required for a particular kind of atom to remove an electron to infinite distance. The ionization potential is usually expressed in volts.

One of a number of nuclides characterized by an identity between their mass numbers, but each having a different atomic number.