Optics / Photonics 101

An Introduction Doppler Cooling

Doppler cooling is the laser based cooling of small particles, such as ions and atoms, which are trapped during the cooling process. It also involves the spontaneous emission of photons, which generate velocity-dependent light forces through the Doppler effect.

15 May 2014

Giles Parameters - Definition and Equation

Giles parameters are used to design fiber amplifiers that are made of rare-earth-doped fibers.

15 May 2014

Free-Electron Laser - Definition and Applications

A free-electron laser is a kind of laser that employs a beam of high-speed, relativistic electrons moving freely with an optical field via a magnetic structure.

15 May 2014

Harmonic Mode-Locking - Definition

Harmonic mode-locking is a method of achieving high pulse repetition rates in an actively mode-locked laser. This method is carried out in the laser resonator with a constant temporal spacing where multiple ultra-short pulses are circulated.

15 May 2014

Hermite-Gaussian Modes - Explanation and Equation

Propagation of light in a free space or a homogenous optical medium changes the intensity profile of light. In certain electric field amplitude distributions, the shape of the amplitude profile remains constant.

15 May 2014

Moiré Pattern - Description and Applications

Moiré patterns occur when materials are overlapped with repetitive lines. It is a naturally occurring interference pattern created by overlaying similar but slightly offset templates.

15 May 2014

Optical Coherence - Definition and Applications

Optical coherence is associated with interference effects of light. A field of light is said to be coherent when the electric field values at different locations are in a fixed phase.

6 May 2014

Amici Prism - Definition and Applications

Dispersive prism is a type of optical prism that divides the incident light into different colors of the electromagnetic spectrum.

6 May 2014

Depth of Focus - Introduction and Meaning

Depth of focus in optics is a measure of the tolerance of placement of the image plane with respect to the lens. In photography, depth of focus refers to the tolerance of the films displacement within the camera.

6 May 2014

What are Optical Flats?

Optical flats can be described as an optical grade glass which is polished and made extremely flat on both surfaces, used for determining the flatness of various optical surfaces.

6 May 2014