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Perkins Precision Developments - Plate Polarizers LB 4/24
energy Dictionary Terms

atomic clock
An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for...
power average
For a pulsed laser, the product of the energy per pulse (joule) and the pulse frequency (hertz); expressed in watts.
transmission
In optics, the conduction of radiant energy through a medium. Often denotes the percentage of energy passing through an...
Auger effect
The radiation-free transition that takes place within an ion, in which inner-shell vacancies in neutral atoms are filled by...
Schlieren optics
An optical system that records inhomogeneities within a medium by detecting the energy refracted by that portion of the...
carbon dioxide laser
A gas laser in which the energy-state transitions between vibrational and rotational states of CO2 molecules give emission...
heat-absorbing filter
A glass filter that transmits visible light while absorbing infrared energy (heat).
direct radiative transition
An energy transition concerned with photons alone.
graser
An acronym of gamma ray amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. It is a gamma ray laser that operates between...
diode-pumped solid-state laser
A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...
photographic radiometry
The use of photographic recording equipment to measure radiant energy. With this procedure, many measurements of radiant...
interference filter
A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently,...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...
Q-switch
A device used to rapidly change the Q of an optical resonator. It is used in the optical resonator of a laser to prevent...
bandgap
In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....
reagent
A reagent is a substance or compound that is used in a chemical reaction to bring about a specific transformation or to...
electric lamp
Any lamp whose emission of radiant energy is dependent upon the passage of an electrical current through the emissive medium.
pair production
The production of a positron-electron pair by a photon having energy greater than one mega-electron-volt, whereby some of...
thermophotovoltaic
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of...
light quantum
The individual coherent series of lightwaves that defines a quantum of radiant energy. Light quantum is equal to hv, h being...
flashlamp
A device that converts stored electrical energy into light by means of a sudden electrical discharge.
quencher molecule
In the dye laser, the molecule that takes out energy from the triplet state during collisions between the dye and quencher...
spatial intensity perturbation
A beam instability, induced by index of refraction inhomogeneities and component damage of dirt and dust particles, that...
Dobson spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer that measures the amount of ozone in the atmosphere through a comparison of solar energy at two...
Mossbauer effect spectroscopy
Spectroscopy characterized by the Mossbauer effect - recoilless emission and absorption of nuclear gamma radiation- which...
laser shock adhesion test
A nondestructive test, also referred to as LASAT, that uses a high-energy laser pulse that is targeted on an adhesively...
attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy
Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows...
absorption band
A group of frequencies or wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum which exhibits resonance or energy contributions near...
free-carrier absorption
The phenomenon whereby an electron within a band absorbs radiation by transferring from a low-energy level to an empty...
laser cavity
A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined...
three-photon microscopy
Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It...
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...
dispersing prism
A prism or series of prisms used to disperse a beam of radiant energy of mixed wavelengths into its spectral components.
crosstalk
The measurable leakage of optical energy from one optical conductor to another. Also known as optical coupling.
photoelectric absorption
The transformation of incident radiant energy into a photoelectric emission current.
electroluminescence
The nonthermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance. The photon emission resulting from...
inertial confinement fusion
Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to...
inverse photoelectric effect
The changing of the kinetic energy of a mobile electron into radiant energy, as in formation of x-rays.
electro-optics
1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by...
excimer laser
An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
snooperscope
An instrument used for viewing in low levels of illumination by means of infrared radiation. A high-aperture lens forms an...
laser crystal
A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...
atom optics
The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...
directed energy
Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often...
absorbance
The natural log of the ratio of absorbed intensity over the total intensity which gives a constant value assuming a stable...
laser active elements
Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...
ray
A geometric representation of a light path through an optical device; a line normal to the wavefront indicating the...
artificial radioactivity
Radioactivity formed by the bombardment of stable elements by either neutrons or high-energy, charged particles under...
sonoradiography
The diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasonic energy to probe the body and, with the help of laser beams, a reflecting...
slit-width error
The error inherent in spectral energy or spectrophotometric quantity due to the finite dimension of the entrance and exit...
vibronic transition
A type of change in the energy levels of molecules in a laser that results in lasing action. Vibronic transitions are those...
ion-beam sputtering
Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It...
rotational transition
One of the types of change in the energy levels of molecules or atoms in a laser that can result in lasing action. Because...
transition
The process whereby a quantum mechanical system alters from one energy level to another. During this process, energy is...
energy density
The energy in a medium per unit volume.
alpha laser
A 2-million W, 2.7-µm-wavelength hydrogen-fluoride laser used as a directed energy weapon.
gamma-ray spectrometer
An instrument used to detect and measure the energy distribution of gamma rays. It has been used to chart the radioactivity...
Compton scattering
The phenomenon observed by A.H. Compton in 1923 -- that some scattered radiation possesses a longer wavelength and...
phosphor
A chemical substance that exhibits fluorescence when excited by ultraviolet radiation, x-rays or an electron beam. The...
nuclear magnetic resonance
A phenomenon, exploited for medical imaging, in which the nuclei of material placed in a strong magnetic field will absorb...
camera
A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material...
self-luminous light source
Any material that derives its energy from chemically or electrically induced reactions; isotope or radium excitation is used...
Lawson criterion
Defines the minimum operational standards for a self-sustaining fusion reactor as equivalence between energy released per...
quantum dot light-emitting diode
QLED stands for quantum dot light-emitting diode. QLED is a display technology that utilizes quantum dots, which are...
elastic scattering
Scattering caused by the interaction between ingoing and outgoing particles of the same type, with no loss of kinetic energy.
exposure
In optics, the total radiant energy incident on a surface-per-unit area. It is equal to the integral over time of the...
thermoelectric converter
An instrument that transforms heat energy into electrical energy.
wavefront
In considering a field of electromagnetic energy emanating from a source, the wavefront is a surface connecting all field...
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
That branch of spectroscopy that applies to the study of interactions between energy and atomic nuclei. The simultaneous...
infrared camera
An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...
functional material
Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for...
electron-gun system
An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find...
quantum dots
A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium...
effective aperture
1. That portion of the aperture that functions to collect energy and deliver it to the final system detector. 2. For an...
solar battery
A series of solar cells arranged to collect solar radiation and to generate a given amount of electrical energy.
fluorescence decay system
A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...
acceptor
Impurity in a semiconductor or any other electroluminescent device capable of inducing hole conduction and accepting a...
electrowetting display
An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...
dewetting
Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...
baseline
The smallest amount of photon energy to pass a detector window and be counted.
optical pumping
The process whereby the number of atoms or atomic systems in a set of energy levels is changed by the absorption of light...
pumping band
A group of energy levels to which ions in the ground state are initially excited when pumping radiation is applied to a...
thermodynamics
Examination of the processes whereby heat energy is converted into other forms of energy.
cascade shower
A shower of cosmic rays whereby a high-energy electron produces one or more photons that convert into electron pairs, the...
free-electron laser
A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a...
phototelegraphy
A document-transmitting process that uses a cylinder that rotates the document to be scanned and detected by a photoelectric...
saturation
1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...
scanning electron microscope
An electron microscope that uses a beam of electrons -- accelerated to high energy and focused on the sample -- to scan the...
color center
A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...
aberration sensor (wavefront sensor)
Designed for the function of optical wavefront analysis. Shack-Hartmann camera aberration sensors use a lens array to image...
photoelectric spectrophotometer
A system that consists of a spectrophotometer with a photoelectric detector for measurement of radiant energy.
annihilation radiation
Gamma ray radiation released when matter and antimatter, such as electron and positron, unite and eliminate each other,...
mid-wave infrared
MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...
prelasing
When uncontrolled laser energy leaks from a laser cavity prematurely, it causes serious damage to optical components and...
actinic radiation
Electromagnetic energy that is capable of producing photochemical activity.
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...
photoacoustic calorimetry
Periodic interruptions of a light beam incident on an absorbing medium that produce heat, expansion and acoustic wave...
light filter
A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or...
luminous flux
Descriptive of the radiant power of visible light modified by the eye response. It is the measure of the flow of visible...
photomultiplier tube
A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely...
kinetic cooling
An atmospheric nonlinear process unique to CO2 laser wavelengths, whereby CO2 absorbs 10.6-µm radiation and the CO2...
Cerenkov counter
An instrument that detects high-energy charged particles by analysis of the Cerenkov radiation that they emit.
laser ablation
Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...
optical waveguide
Any structure having the ability to guide the flow of radiant energy along a path parallel to its axis and to contain the...
electron temperature
Approximation of a system of thermal equilibrium formed by the distribution of the kinetic energies of electrons in a gas...
phototoxicity
Phototoxicity refers to the harmful effects caused by exposure to light, particularly intense or ultraviolet (UV) light, on...
anisophotic source
A light source that emits an uneven distribution of radiant energy through the visible range.
dichroic coating
A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...
reflector
A type of conducting surface or material used to reflect radiant energy.
indirect radiative transition
An energy transition concerned with the combination of a photon and a phonon.
superelastic collision
Observed phenomenon in laser pulses in which a large number of excited electrons are created and in which multiphoton...
photodynamic inactivation
Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...
beam diameter
1. Calculated distance between two exactly opposed points on a beam at a chosen fraction of peak power (typically 1/e2). 2....
fill factor
In solar energy technology, the percent of usable land covered by collectors. The horizontal collector is the only design...
momentum transfer
In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision...
quantum optics
The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
soliton
Any isolated wave that propagates without dispersion of energy. Specifically to photonics, an ultrashort pulse of laser...
pulsed laser deposition
A technique for depositing a material coating on metal, ceramic, semiconductor or polymer substrates. The interaction of...
quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...
valence band
In a crystalline substance, the spectral range of states of energy that contains the crystal's binding valence electrons.
plasmon ion-assisted deposition
Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production...
deep ultraviolet
Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the...
ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy
A technique for measuring the energy spectrum of electrons emitted during the absorption of ultraviolet radiation. This...
electric CO laser
An electrically excited laser having carbon monoxide as the lasing material and in which lasing occurs in a partial...
autoluminescence
The luminescence of a substance that is produced by energy within it (e.g., radioactive material).
damping
Continuous conversion of oscillatory energy into heat, relative to time or distance.
photodischarge spectroscopy
A spectroscopic process that detects and analyzes the discharge from an extrinsic surface with less than bandgap light. This...
einstein
A unit of energy equal to the amount of energy absorbed by one molecule of material undergoing a photochemical reaction, as...
pulse energy thermography
laser powder bed fusion
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power...
population inversion
The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated...
GaAlAs laser
A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic...
Nichols radiometer
An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...
attosecond photonics sources
Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of...
sector disc
A disc, having opaque and transparent sectors or sectors with unlike reflectances, that is rotated at a specific rate to...
gray
1. A measure of absorbed dose, equal to the energy imparted by ionizing radiation to a mass of matter corresponding to 1 J...
induction linear accelerator
A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by supplying electrical energy to the electron beam...
minimum spot size
The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the...
wave
1. An undulation or vibration; a form of movement by which all radiant energy of the electromagnetic spectrum is estimated...
fluence
Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area....
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...
electrodeless discharge tube
A device consisting of an airtight quartz tube that holds the material to be analyzed. When a high-frequency electrostatic...
Planck's constant
The universal constant h that has a value of 6.6260693 x 10-34 Js. A quantum of energy is equal to the product of the...
mode coupling
In an optical waveguide, the exchange of power/energy among modes.
solid-state laser
A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent...
infrared scanner
An optical system used to collect infrared energy from a scene using scanning optics with a point or line detector, as...
soft radiation
Term applied to radiation composed of particles or photons that will not easily penetrate a material because of their low...
flowmeter
A flowmeter is a device used to measure the flow rate or quantity of a fluid passing through a particular point in a system....
cross section
Calculation of the probability of an interaction between two types of particles, such as light absorption, excitation or...
fiber optic lightguide
A bundle of optical fibers arranged randomly for the purpose of transmitting energy, not an image.
energy-sharing laser
A laser that distributes its output power among two, three or four optical fibers simultaneously.
fatigue
The decrease of a component's efficiency, or a reduction in a material's light sensitivity, as the result of accumulated...
superfluorescence
The process in which the normal rate of fluorescent emission from a substance is enhanced by virtue of the optical gain of...
thermal blooming
The effect that characterizes an intense laser beam that is passed through an absorbing medium, causing the absorbed energy...
thermal radiation
The emission of radiant energy in which the energy emitted originates in the thermal motion of the atoms or molecules of the...
ultrasonic imaging
The formation and display of three-dimensional images by ultrasonic energy. In one technique, the energy pulses from an...
junction diode
A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two...
quantum cascade laser
A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....
radiation length
The average length in a specific material in which a relativistic charged particle will lose 67 percent of its energy by...
eye-safe laser operation
Wavelengths between 400 and 1400 nm (VIS to NIR) are focused onto the retina by the cornea. Because the retina is sensitive...
bolometer
A thermometric instrument used for the detection and measurement of radiant energy. Its essential component is a short...
ultraviolet reflectance
Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...
radiographic amplifier screen
A solid-state panel of the photoconductor-electroluminescent type. The photoconductive layer, sensitive to x-rays, is coated...
equivalency width
Calculation of the amount of energy extracted from a light beam regardless of its wide range resolution.
Auger electron spectroscopy
The energy analysis of electrons released in a secondary step following initial excitation or ionization.
capacitor
A device that accumulates and stores electrical energy to introduce capacitance into a circuit. Basically, it is composed of...
electron cyclotron maser
A maser that relies on the fact that electrons in orbital motion in high-magnetic fields will emit energy at the cyclotron...
sensitometry
Primarily the measurement of photographic sensitivity of certain materials such as photographic film. It refers to the...
laser-induced fluorescence
Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms,...
underillumination
Illumination of hologram facets with a beam that covers only a small portion of the hologram in order to optimize laser...
selective laser melting
Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that belongs to the powder bed...
gamma ray
The spontaneous emittance of electromagnetic radiation by the nucleus of certain radioactive elements during their quantum...
waveguide
A waveguide is a physical structure or device that is designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, such as radio...
photoluminescence
The state of optically excited luminescence. Luminescence refers to the light emitted by excited atoms or ions as they decay...
two-photon fluorescence
This results from the simultaneous absorption of two photons, each having half the energy needed for excitation and...
beta-ray spectrometer
An instrument for the detection of the energy distribution of b-particles and secondary electrons.
Marx effect
The decrease in the energy of a photoelectric emission as a result of the simultaneous incidence of radiation having lower...
photonegative
The property exhibited by a substance having electrical conductivity that decreases as the intensity of the incident visible...
spread function
The distribution of energy about the image of a point source in the focal plane of an optical system.
radiation
The emission and/or propagation of energy through space or through a medium in the form of either waves or corpuscular...
ablation threshold
The minimum energy required to induce atomic and molecular separation or displacement due to incident intense laser...
line spectrum
A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value,...
flow chemistry
Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...
nonlinear scattering
Direct conversion of a photon from one wavelength to a lower energy photon of another wavelength(s) due to inelastic...
equal-energy source
A light source that produces an equal-energy spectrum.
absorptance
The ratio of energy or intensity absorbed by the medium (numerator) to the total incident energy.
chemical laser
A laser that relies on chemical activity instead of electrical energy to produce the pumping action necessary to form pulses...
thermal radiator
A source that emits radiant energy when its molecules or atoms are thermally excited.
radiant energy
The energy passed on as electromagnetic radiation; e.g., radio, heat or light waves.
double-layer light amplifier
A device used to create a light output that exceeds light input, the energy being provided by an electric field. It consists...
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...
arc flash
An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...
inverse bremsstrahlung
Collisional absorption of energy that occurs in inertial confinement fusion systems when hydrodynamic expansion of the...
fluorescent screen
A fluorescent screen refers to a phosphorescent or fluorescent-coated surface that emits visible light when exposed to other...
nonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...
conversion efficiency
In a pumped laser system, the ratio of output energy to pump energy.
joule
A unit of energy or work in the MKS system of units. One joule is equal to 107 ergs.
ion-assisted deposition
A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions...
inertial fusion energy
Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...
laser surgery
Laser surgery refers to a medical procedure in which a laser, or focused beam of light, is used as a precision tool to cut,...
equal-energy white
A stimulus that contains equal energy at each wavelength in the visible region of the spectrum.
self-heating
Heating that results from the dissipation of energy.
ultrafast laser
An ultrafast laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of...
electron filter lens
An electrostatic device that uses an electric potential barrier to allow the transmittance of electrons at or above a set...
flux
Time rate of flow of energy; the radiant or luminous power in a beam.
BCS theory
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...
synchrotron
A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...
depletion region
The region at the PN junction in a semiconductor radiation detector where the potential energies of the two materials create...
organic light-emitting diode
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to...
pneumatic detector
A device used to detect radiant energy by means of the thermal expansion of gas.
crystal optics
The study of the transmission of radiant energy through crystals, especially anisotropic crystals, and their effects on...
3D laser line profile sensor
A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and...
laser texturing
Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...
degenerate level
The condition in which two or more energy states are identical.
metabolite
A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living...
neuromorphic vision sensor
A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual...
q-switched operation
Q-switched operation, or q-switching, is a technique used in lasers to produce short and intense pulses of light. The term...
Coulomb damping
Conversion of vibratory energy into heat that is observed in the rubbing of two dry surfaces over each other.
infrared phosphor
A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to...
absorption peak
An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...
photoreactive agent
Participates in a reaction only in the presence of light and radiant energy. Besides 3D printing, photoreactive agents also...
barium fluoride
A relatively hard crystal, highly resistant to excessive energy radiation, that is frequently used for optical windows,...
photosensitivity
That property of a material indicating that it will react when exposed to light energy.
chirped-pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose...
radiant intensity
The radiant energy emitted within a time period per unit solid angle, usually measured in watts per steradian.
metastable state
An excited energy state of an atom or atomic system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited state and typically...
albedo
The ratio of radiant energy reflected from a rough surface to that incident on it. Usually, the radiant energy is total...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...
null process
Commonly performed in spectroscopy, the optical null process is a method for radiation detection whereby physical detectors...
conduction welding
A type of laser welding of thin materials using a defocused or low-power carbon dioxide laser beam. The energy is absorbed...
actinic
Stimulating light used for the production of energy through photosynthesis, solar cell or other light senstitive device.
femtosecond laser
A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds,...
ground state
Also known as ground level. The lowest energy level of an atom or atomic system. A material in the ground state is not...
silicon carbide light-emitting diodes
Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...
scanning electron microscopy
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution,...
time-sharing laser
A laser fitted with up to eight optical fibers that transmit the energy to different workstations in turn.
photoconductivity
The conductivity increase exhibited by some nonmetallic materials, resulting from the free carriers generated when photon...
Mollier diagram
Graphic evaluation of the operation of a steam thermodynamic cycle of a solar energy system on which enthalpy is plotted...
laser lithotripsy
Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...
high-pressure cloud chamber
A cloud chamber designed to maintain the gas within it at a high pressure as a means of reducing the range of the...
detector
1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of...
solar cell
A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting...
Planck's law
A fundamental law of quantum theory which states that the discrete quanta of energy transfers associated with...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...
absolute temperature scale
The measurement of heat energy as determined from absolute zero as the zero point on the scale. Increments are identical to...
laser peening
Laser peening is a surface enhancement technique used to improve the mechanical properties of materials, particularly...
computer-generated holographic scanner
A phase reflection scanner that eliminates the need for a complex translation device while maintaining a high-energy-density...
interferometric modulator display
Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy...
optical clock
An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic...
blackbody
An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all...
harmonic generation
Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new...
conduction band
A partially filled or empty energy band through which electrons can move easily. The material can therefore carry an...
flash spectroscopy
The study and interpretation of the spectra of substances after they have absorbed the radiant energy emitted by a brief,...
MSM photodiode
A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
transducer
A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...
linewidth
1. The range of frequencies or wavelengths over which radiations are absorbed or emitted in a transition between a specific...
attenuation
Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...
PIN photodiode
A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....
epitaxial equipment
Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...
absorption
The transfer of energy from an incident electromagnetic energy field with wavelength or frequency to an atomic or molecular...
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...
photocathode luminous sensitivity
The responsivity of a photocathode to luminous energy equal to the ratio of the photoelectric emission to the incident...
fluorophosphate glass
A special laser glass made primarily of fluoride compounds that exhibits extremely low refractive index and allows greater...
partial coherence theory
Totally coherent radiation is produced by a purely monochromatic point source. In the real world the energy will have a...
active transport
The transport of molecules in a cell which requires the use of a cell's internal energy. The energy used in the cell may be...
chip-on-board lights
Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...
beamwidth
The angular width of a radiation beam. With respect to a conical beam of light, it is the vertex angle of the cone. The...
neuromorphic
Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and...
average power
In a pulsed laser, the pulse energy in joules times the repetition rate in hertz.
coherence length
That length over which energy in two separate waves remains constant. With respect to a laser, the greatest distance between...
photon
A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of...
Luneburg lens
A dielectric sphere with an index of refraction that varies with distance from the sphere center. A parallel beam of rays is...
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...
neutron radiography
The nondestructive analysis and recording of industrial components based on the absorption of relatively low-energy neutrons...
blaze
1. A plane that forms one side of the groove ruled on a diffraction grating. 2. To form the individual grooves of a grating...
excitation
1. The process by which an atom acquires energy sufficient to raise it to a quantum state higher than its ground state. 2....
gas laser
One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although...
cold atom
Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...
beam converter
A device used to alter the shape of or energy distribution within a beam of radiation.
micro-LED
Micro-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to...
crystal counter
An instrument that is used to detect high-energy particles by the pulse of the current formed when a particle passes through...
plasma accelerator
A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged...
inverse Compton effect
The interaction between a photon and an energetic electron, caused by collision, that transfers energy from the electron to...
solar absorber
A substance capable of converting solar radiation into thermal energy.
electroluminescent display
The utilization of the light produced when electrical energy is directly converted into light within devices used for visual...
polarimetry
The measurement of the rotation of the plane of polarization of radiant energy, usually through the use of a polarimeter.
nonradiative transition
A nonradiative transition refers to a process in which an electron or an atom undergoes a change in its energy state without...
excitation index
The ratio of the intensities of two specified spectral lines of a source having vastly different excitation energies. This...
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...
diffraction fanning
The formation of a fan of light or energy rays in a beam as the beam passes through an extremely narrow aperture.
internal standard line
A spectral line of an internal standard; used to compare radiant energy of the line being analyzed.
spectral centroid
Average wavelength usually determined for light-transmitting devices by taking a weighted average for each wavelength of the...
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...
Förster resonance energy transfer
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced...
proximity-mode sensing
A method of sensing by transmitting energy from the sensor and detecting the energy after it has been reflected by the...
single-walled carbon nanotubes
Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared...
molecular motor
A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can...
Deslandres diagram
A diagram in which the variable frequencies of a spectral band system are plotted corresponding to ascending values of the...
Raman absorption
The absorption of part of the photon energy by a molecule through which there is a slight energy change and the energy...
longitudinal pumping
A dye laser cell configuration in which the dye flows in the direction of the axis of the laser, yielding symmetrical energy...
laser detector
Device that operates by interaction of incident radiation with semiconductor based material in order to produce an...
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
phonon
A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...
double-clad fiber
Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...
lattice energy
With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by...
Rydberg atom
The term "Rydberg atom" refers to an atom in a highly excited state where one or more of its electrons are in a Rydberg...
stimulated Brillouin scattering
In Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), an incident photon (usually laser light) interacts with acoustic phonons in a...
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...
periodic wave
A wave of radiant energy in which each point of the wave is repeatedly displaced at equal time intervals.
watt
The power that gives rise to the production of energy at the rate of 1 joule per second.
emission line
The line or lines emitted by an element when its radiation particles travel from one energy level to another.
vibrational transition
A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...
atomic emission spectrometry
Spectrometric analysis of the distinct and characteristic spectra of atoms of elements. The atoms are energized to emit...
holmium laser
Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...
luminous energy
A measure of the time-integrated amount of flux. It has units of lumen-seconds and might be used to describe such things as...
electron-beam lithography system
An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and...
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
kilojoule
A unit of energy or work that is equal to 1000 (103) joules. Abbreviated kJ.
rad
A unit of energy absorbed from ionizing radiation, equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.
continuous wave
Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In...
photovoltaic
Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...
monoergic
Pertaining to radiation or particle emission, whereby the emission is produced with minimal energy spread.
undulator magnet
A device used in a free-electron laser to convert the electron-beam's energy into microwave laser radiation by creating a...
Bernoulli terms
Mathematical definition for the changes that occur between potential and kinetic energy. These formulas express wave motion.
PN-junction luminescence
Discharge that results when a doped semiconductor crystal with a PN junction is charged with a low-voltage direct current....
fusion ignition
Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion...
isoperibol enclosure
An enclosure for a calorimeter that allows measurement of unusually low quantities of power and energy.
cathode-coupled amplifier
A cascade amplifier that uses a common cathode resistor to couple energy from stage to stage.
electronics
That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of...
terminated crossbar
An optical matrix that does not require perfection in both states of the crosspoint, so that all the optical switches can be...
high harmonic generation
High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous...
wavelength
Electromagnetic energy is transmitted in the form of a sinusoidal wave. The wavelength is the physical distance covered by...
spatial mode
Also known as transverse mode. The configurations of energy storage, relative to the structure of a laser resonator, that...
optical transition
The process by which an atomic system changes from one energy level to another by either the emission or absorption of...
Poynting vector
In remote sensing technology, this represents the intensity of energy flow in the direction of wave propagation.
cathode radiant sensitivity
Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the...
electrochemistry
The study of the reversible conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. Electroplating is an electrochemical...
second-harmonic generation
Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine...
solar heat storage
The process of transferring collected energy from solar radiation into a heat-absorbing medium (e.g., an insulated tank of...
photochemical detector
An instrument used to detect and measure radiant energy by the formation of a chemical reaction.
three-level laser
A laser having a material, such as ruby, that has an energy state structure of three levels: the ground state (1) wherein...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
quantum confinement
Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...
Zeeman effect
The splitting of energy levels of an atom, ion or molecule because of a magnetic field.
electromagnetic theory
The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.
radio-frequency linear accelerator
A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by channeling microwave energy into waveguide cavity...
diathermic mirror
A mirror coated to reflect cold (white) light while transmitting hot (infrared) energy.
equal-energy spectrum
Spectrum characterized by equal energy (power, flux) per unit wavelength interval.
quantum well
A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...
infrared image tube
An image converter that produces a visible image based on the infrared emittance of the object. The infrared energy is...
silicon cell
A solid-state device, composed of silicon, that is used to convert radiation into electrical energy.
galvanoluminescence
The emission of radiant energy produced by the passage of an electrical current through an appropriate electrolyte in which...
photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...
blindness
The inability to perceive visual images (visible radiant energy). In human beings, blindness is defined as a visual acuity...
resonance absorption (light)
The re-emission of absorbed energy, having the same wavelength as the incident energy, in an arbitrary direction from a...
atomic absorption spectroscopy
The analysis of the atomic structure of a sample by means of a source radiation that is absorbed and emitted by the sample...
autofluorescence
Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...
isotopically selected laser spectroscopy
A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The...
emission spectrum
An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...
phase matching
Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...
disc calorimeter
A device that provides simple and reliable laser power and energy measurement. Essentially a heat flux sensor producing an...
electrodynamics
The study of the generation of electromagnetic power by radiation from high-energy beams.
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...
pulsed laser
A laser that emits energy in a series of short bursts or pulses and that remains inactive between each burst or pulse. The...
diode laser
A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light....
Stark effect
The splitting or shifting of spectral lines or energy levels caused by the application of a strong transverse electrical...
cascade method
A heterochromatic photometric process using successive comparison of similar chromaticities and the calculation of relative...
collective lens
A convex or positive lens that serves to collect energy and direct it into subsequent system optics.
germanium crystal
Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...
Fermi-Dirac function
The mathematical expression of the probability of any given state of energy being occupied when a semiconductor is in...
radioluminescence
Luminescence produced by the bombardment of radiant energy such as x-rays, radioactive waves or alpha particles.
excimer laser coronary angioplasty
Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) refers to a medical procedure used in the treatment of coronary artery disease....
laser-mediated gene transfer
Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...
end-fire coupling
End-fire coupling refers to a method of coupling energy into or out of a waveguide, transmission line, or antenna, where the...
photochemical
The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...
beam profiler
A device that measures the spatial distribution of energy perpendicular to the propagation path of a radiant beam. An energy...
radiant power
The time rate of flow of radiant energy, expressed in watts (W), and carries the units of Joule per second (J/s). The prefix...
guided wave
A wave in which energy is focused near a boundary separating materials having different properties. Propagation of the wave...
tunneling
An observed effect of the ability of certain atomic particles to pass through a barrier that they cannot pass over because...
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
metabolic imaging
Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or...
connector loss
Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems. The major contributors are mutual core...
optical emission spectroscopy
In dry etching, a method of characterizing the composition of solid materials such as metal. Atoms in the OES technique are...
cell
1. A single unit in a device for changing radiant energy to electrical energy or for controlling current flow in a circuit....
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...
thermocouple
A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative...
neutral density filter
A light filter that equally decreases the intensity of all wavelengths of light without altering the relative spectral...
nuclear fusion
In physics, nuclear fusion refers to the process in which two atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus,...
exciton
An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...
scintillation phosphor
A phosphor that has the ability to convert into light emission a portion of energy lost by ionization when a charged...
resonance radiation
That radiation emitted by an atom or molecule that has the same frequency as that of an incident particle; e.g., a photon....
sensitized fluorescence
The optical energy transfer between ions of differing atoms.
Franck-Condon principle
The principle that electronic energy transitions occur at such speeds that the nuclei of the atoms in the molecular system...
bubble chamber
A large tank filled with liquid hydrogen, with a flat window at one end and complex optical devices for observing and...
particle acceleration
Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy...
light-emitting diode
An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...
single-molecule FRET
Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular...
diffraction-limited lens
A lens with aberrations corrected to the point that residual wavefront errors are substantially less than one-quarter the...
Josephson effect
Characteristic of radiation detectors that produce energy that is similar to the energy of superconductive gaps when...
laser controlled area
Area in which laser operation occurs and therefore safety requirements are met and regulations are implemented. Lasers...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...
channel electron multiplier
A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along...
luminescent fiber
Fiber that emits luminescent radiation excited by ultraviolet, x-ray or high-energy particles.
kampometer
A device designed to measure radiant energy, particularly in the thermal region.
excitation energy
The difference between the energy of an atom in its ground state and that of the same atom in its excited (quantum) state.
parasitic oscillation
Oscillation in rod and disc amplifiers that critically limits the achievable energy storage.
laser spark spectroscopy
A method of analysis in which a pulsed laser beam is used to heat a particle, producing a plasma, or laser spark. As the...
laser pump
A source of energy that produces needed excitation for population inversion in laser operation. The excitation source that...
second-harmonic generation microscopy
A nonlinear label-free imaging technique commonly used during surgical procedures for the visualization of collagen fibers...
cold shield
That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a...
light valve
With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active...
pumping radiation
Radiation used to excite an optical or laser material to a higher energy level. See optical pumping.
scintillation spectrometry
The method of determining the energy distribution of high-speed charged particles by the luminous effect formed when the...
integrated energy
Also known as integrated exposure. A measurement of light from sources that vary rapidly with time, defined as the integral...
four-level laser
A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a...
laser annealing
Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically...
vision
The processes in which luminous energy incident on the eye is perceived and evaluated.
Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...
chalcogenide
Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
impurity level
In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...
Q
The figure of merit of a resonator, defined as (2p) x (average energy stored in the resonator)/(energy dissipated per...
radiology
The study of radioactive substances and high-energy radiations such as x-rays and g-rays.
ionization potential
The amount of energy required for a particular kind of atom to remove an electron to infinite distance. The ionization...
excitation potential
The amount of energy required to raise the energy level of an atom; a necessity if the atom is to radiate energy. High...
linear energy transfer
The transfer of energy lost by radiation to the body, relative to the loss of energy per unit of path traveled.
helium-neon laser
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...
Lorentz oscillator model
The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...
fluorophore
A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has the ability to emit light upon excitation by an external...
radiometer
A device used to measure the intensity of radiant energy.
nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy
A chemical detection technique used to measure molecules that have a magnetic dipole moment. The analysis is directed to...
photothermal effect
The cause of some forms of laser injury in which tissue absorbs incident laser light and experiences a damaging rise in...
optical parametric oscillator
A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates...

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