Photonics Dictionary: L

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...

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In a liquid crystal, the molecules are ordered like those in a...

An alphanumeric display formed by a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between two sheets of glass; a transparent conductive coating on the glass is etched to form the character segments. An...

A wireless stereo imaging device used in conjunction with a monitor to produce a virtual interactive environment. Liquid crystal shutters in the eyewear are synchronized with the monitor at 120...

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the intensity, phase, or polarization of light passing through it using liquid...

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based semiconductor technology to create high-resolution, high-quality images. LCoS...

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or identify specific components or entities. In various scientific and...

A method of depositing crystalline films one molecular layer at a time, by dipping the substrate into water containing a polymer that forms a single layer of molecular chains on the surface. This...

Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically a thin film or surface layer, with the objective of improving its...

In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or nanoscopic scale. These optical lattices can be created using various techniques...

A length that denotes the size of the unit cell in a crystal lattice. With respect to the cubic crystal, this is the length of the side of the unit cell. However, a simple definition of the term is...

With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by an infinite distance, are brought to their locations in the stable lattice....

The photographic record of the diffracted beams formed when heterogeneous x-rays emerging from a pinhole or slit impinge upon one crystal.

A ferroelectric polycrystalline ceramic material used in optical memories for computers and as a piezoelectric transducer.

A crystal often used for windows and refracting components in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared. Characteristically, this form has excellent transmission from 0.14 to 6.0 µm.

A crystalline ferroelectric material used primarily as a substrate and an active medium for thin-film optical modulators and switches. It possesses very high electro-optic and piezoelectric...

A type of filter consisting of a series of birefringent crystals and polarizers invented by French astronomer Bernard Lyot for isolating and observing significant wavelengths of solar light.