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Beam Parameter Product
In laser science, the beam parameter product (BPP) is the product of a laser beam's divergence angle (half-angle) and the radius of the beam at its narrowest point (the beam waist). The BPP quantifies the quality of a laser beam, and how well it can be focused to a small spot. A Gaussian beam has the lowest possible BPP, \lambda/\pi, where \lambda is the wavelength of the light. The ratio of the BPP of an actual beam to that of an ideal Gaussian beam at the same wavelength is denoted M2 (" M squared"). This parameter is a wavelength-independent measure of beam quality. The general wave equation, assuming paraxial approximation, yields: :\mathrm = \varphi \cdot w_0 = M^2 \cdot \frac. With: : \varphi the half angle in far field : w_0 the beam waist : M^2 the beam quality factor, M squared : \lambda the wavelength. The quality of a beam is important for many applications. In fiber-optic communications beams with an M2 close to 1 are required for coupling to single-mode optical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laser Science
Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a population inversion in active laser medium, laser media, and the temporal evolution of the light field in the laser. It is also concerned with the physics of laser beam propagation, particularly the physics of Gaussian beams, with laser applications, and with associated fields such as nonlinear optics and quantum optics. History Laser science predates the invention of the laser itself. Albert Einstein created the foundations for the laser and maser in 1917, via a paper in which he re-derived Max Planck’s law of radiation using a formalism based on probability coefficients (Einstein coefficients) for the Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The existenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beam Diameter
The beam diameter or beam width of an Light beam, electromagnetic beam is the diameter along any specified line that is perpendicular to the beam axis and intersects it. Since beams typically do not have sharp edges, the diameter can be defined in many different ways. Five definitions of the beam width are in common use: #D4σ or second-moment width, D4σ, 10/90 or 20/80 #Knife-edge width, knife-edge, #1/e2 width, 1/e2, #Full width at half maximum, FWHM, and #D86 width, D86. The beam width can be measured in units of length at a particular plane perpendicular to the beam axis, but it can also refer to the angular width, which is the angle subtended by the beam at the source. The angular width is also called the beam divergence. Beam diameter is usually used to characterize electromagnetic beams in the optical regime, and occasionally in the microwave regime, that is, cases in which the aperture (antenna), aperture from which the beam emerges is very large with respect to the wavele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Laser Articles
This is a list of laser topics. A * 3D printing, additive manufacturing * Abnormal reflection * Above-threshold ionization * Absorption spectroscopy * Accelerator physics * Acoustic microscopy * Acousto-optic deflector * Acousto-optic modulator * Acousto-optical spectrometer * Acousto-optics * Active laser medium * Active optics * Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System * Advanced Tactical Laser * Afocal system * Airborne laser * Airborne wind turbine * Airy beam * ALKA * All gas-phase iodine laser * Ambient ionization * Amplified spontaneous emission * Analytical chemistry * Aneutronic fusion * Antiproton Decelerator * Apache Arrowhead * Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation * Arago spot * Argon fluoride laser * Argus laser * Asterix IV laser * Astrophysical maser * Atmospheric-pressure laser ionization * Atom interferometer * Atom laser * Atom probe * Atomic clock * Atomic coherence * Atomic fountain * Atomic line filter * Ato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etendue
Etendue or étendue (; ) is a property of light in an optical system, which characterizes how "spread out" the light is in area and angle. It corresponds to the beam parameter product (BPP) in Gaussian beam optics. Other names for etendue include acceptance, throughput, light grasp, light-gathering power, optical extent, and the AΩ product. ''Throughput'' and ''AΩ product'' are especially used in radiometry and radiative transfer where it is related to the view factor (or shape factor). It is a central concept in nonimaging optics. From the source point of view, etendue is the product of the area of the source and the solid angle that the system's entrance pupil subtends as seen from the source. Equivalently, from the system point of view, the etendue equals the area of the entrance pupil times the solid angle the source subtends as seen from the pupil. These definitions must be applied for infinitesimally small "elements" of area and solid angle, which must then b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beamsplitter
A beam splitter or beamsplitter is an optical device that splits a beam of light into a transmitted and a reflected beam. It is a crucial part of many optical experimental and measurement systems, such as interferometers, also finding widespread application in fibre optic telecommunications. Designs In its most common form, a cube, a beam splitter is made from two triangular glass prisms which are glued together at their base using polyester, epoxy, or urethane-based adhesives. (Before these synthetic resins, natural ones were used, e.g. Canada balsam.) The thickness of the resin layer is adjusted such that (for a certain wavelength) half of the light incident through one "port" (i.e., face of the cube) is reflected and the other half is transmitted due to FTIR (frustrated total internal reflection). Polarizing beam splitters, such as the Wollaston prism, use birefringent materials to split light into two beams of orthogonal polarization states. Another design is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laser Cutting
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser most commonly through optics. The laser optics and CNC (computer numerical control) are used to direct the laser beam to the material. A commercial laser for cutting materials uses a motion control system to follow a CNC or G-code of the pattern to be cut onto the material. The focused laser beam is directed at the material, which then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish. History In 1965, the first production laser cutting machine was used to drilling, drill holes in diamond Die (manufacturing), dies. This machine was made by the Western Electric Engineering Research Center. In 1967, the British pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laser Welding
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow and the optical amplifier patented by Gordon Gould. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light that is ''coherent''. Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling uses such as optical communication, laser cutting, and lithography. It also allows a laser beam to stay narrow over great distances ( collimation), used in laser pointers, lidar, and free-space optical communication. Lasers can also have high temporal coherence, which permits them to emit light with a very narrow frequency spectrum. Temporal coherence can al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermite-Gaussian Mode
In optics, a Gaussian beam is an idealized beam of electromagnetic radiation whose amplitude envelope in the transverse plane is given by a Gaussian function; this also implies a Gaussian intensity (irradiance) profile. This fundamental (or TEM00) transverse Gaussian mode describes the intended output of many lasers, as such a beam diverges less and can be focused better than any other. When a Gaussian beam is refocused by an ideal lens, a new Gaussian beam is produced. The electric and magnetic field amplitude profiles along a circular Gaussian beam of a given wavelength and polarization are determined by two parameters: the waist , which is a measure of the width of the beam at its narrowest point, and the position relative to the waist.Svelto, pp. 153–5. Since the Gaussian function is infinite in extent, perfect Gaussian beams do not exist in nature, and the edges of any such beam would be cut off by any finite lens or mirror. However, the Gaussian is a useful approxima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tophat Beam
In optics, a tophat beam (also Flat-topRüdiger PaschottaFlat-top Beams DOI: https://doi.org/10.61835/6ku . Retrieved 5 March 2024. or top-hat beam) such as a laser beam or electron beam has a near-uniform fluence (energy density) within a circular disk. It is typically formed by refractiveNam-Hyong Kim and Alissa Wilczynski (March 31, 2021)How to design a Gaussian to Top Hat beam shaper Retrieved 5 March 2024. or diffractive optical elements from a Gaussian beam. Tophat beams are often used in industry, for example for laser drilling of holes in printed circuit boards. They are also used in very high power laser systems, which use chains of optical amplifiers to produce an intense beam. Tophat beams are named for their resemblance to the shape of a top hat. Due to diffraction Diffraction is the deviation of waves from straight-line propagation without any change in their energy due to an obstacle or through an aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayleigh Length
In optics and especially laser science, the Rayleigh length or Rayleigh range, z_\mathrm, is the distance along the propagation direction of a beam from the waist to the place where the area of the cross section is doubled. A related parameter is the confocal parameter, ''b'', which is twice the Rayleigh length. The Rayleigh length is particularly important when beams are modeled as Gaussian beams. Explanation For a Gaussian beam propagating in free space along the \hat axis with wave number k = 2\pi/\lambda, the Rayleigh length is given by :z_\mathrm = \frac = \frac k w_0^2 where \lambda is the wavelength (the vacuum wavelength divided by n, the index of refraction) and w_0 is the beam waist, the radial size of the beam at its narrowest point. This equation and those that follow assume that the waist is not extraordinarily small; w_0 \ge 2\lambda/\pi. The radius of the beam at a distance z from the waist is :w(z) = w_0 \, \sqrt . The minimum value of w(z) occurs at w( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focal Length
The focal length of an Optics, optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the Multiplicative inverse, inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system Convergence (optics), converges light, while a negative focal length indicates that the system Divergence (optics), diverges light. A system with a shorter focal length bends the Ray (optics), rays more sharply, bringing them to a focus in a shorter distance or diverging them more quickly. For the special case of a thin lens in air, a positive focal length is the distance over which initially Collimated beam, collimated (parallel) rays are brought to a Focus (optics), focus, or alternatively a negative focal length indicates how far in front of the lens a point source must be located to form a collimated beam. For more general optical systems, the focal length has no intuitive meaning; it is simply the inverse of the system's optical power. In mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lens (optics)
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), usually arranged along a common axis. Lenses are made from materials such as glass or plastic and are ground, polished, or molded to the required shape. A lens can focus light to form an image, unlike a prism, which refracts light without focusing. Devices that similarly focus or disperse waves and radiation other than visible light are also called "lenses", such as microwave lenses, electron lenses, acoustic lenses, or explosive lenses. Lenses are used in various imaging devices such as telescopes, binoculars, and cameras. They are also used as visual aids in glasses to correct defects of vision such as myopia and hypermetropia. History The word ''lens'' comes from , the Latin name of the lentil (a seed of a lentil pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
