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Radiant Intensity - Definition and Introduction

Radiant intensity may be defined as the amount of power emitted by a source in a particular direction per unit solid angle.

19 Jun 2014

Specular Reflection - Definition

There are two types of reflection: specular and diffuse. Specular reflection is a type of surface reflectance often described as a mirror-like reflection of light from the surface. In specular reflection, the incident light is reflected into a single outgoing direction. The name specular is derived from the Latin word speculum, meaning mirror.

19 Jun 2014

Optical Transmittance - Definition and Formula

Transmittance is the fraction of incident light of a specific wavelength which passes via a sample. It is also defined as the ratio of the incident power (P) to the resulting power (P0).

19 Jun 2014

Beam Combining - Definition and Applications

Beam combining is done through a number of processes in order to scale up the power and radiance of laser sources. There are a number of techniques that allow the build up of high power laser sources that result in high beam quality and high brightness.

19 Jun 2014

Bragg Grating - Introduction and Applications

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) is a type of Bragg reflector (distributed type) that is constructed as a short segment of optical fiber to reflect light of certain wavelength and transmit the rest.

29 May 2014

Photodiodes - Their Working Principles and Applications

Photodiode is a kind of light detector which involves conversion of light into voltage or current based on the mode of operation of the device. It consists of built-in lenses, optical filters, and has small or large surface areas.

29 May 2014

Photometer - Definition and References

Photometer is an instrument for measuring the light intensity or optical properties of optical sources or detectors. It operates more like a transducer which converts electric current into mechanical signal.

29 May 2014

Quantum Efficiency - Introduction and References

Quantum efficiency (QE) may be defined as the fraction of incident photons that are recorded by a photo detector. The quantum efficiency of a photosensitive device is measured in terms of electrons per photon or amps per watt.

29 May 2014

Population Inversion - Definition and References

Population inversion is a condition of the laser medium where a system consisting of a group of molecules or atoms exists in a higher excited state with more quantum systems than that of the lower energy state of a laser transition.

29 May 2014

Plano-Convex Lens - Equation and Explanation

A plano-convex lens is a convergent lens with one flat surface and one convex surface. It focuses parallel light rays to a positive focal point to form real images that can be manipulated using spatial filters.

29 May 2014