Optics / Photonics 101

What is Raman Amplification?

Raman amplification is a phenomenon in non-linear optical mediums where the transfer of power from one optical beam to another happens when it is downshifted in frequency by the energy from an optical phonon.

11 Jul 2013

What is a Fiber Optic Switch?

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.

8 Jul 2013

Frequency Tripling / Third Harmonic Generation - Principles and Applications

Third harmonic generation may be described as a process in which the frequency of a light source is tripled when it passes through a non-linear medium.

5 Jul 2013

Nd:YAG Lasers – Properties and Applications

Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) is a crystal that is commonly used as a lasing medium for solid-state lasers.

From Litron Lasers Ltd. 27 Jun 2013

What is an Optical Amplifier?

Optical amplifiers are devices that amplify an optical signal without converting it into an electric signal. Optical amplifiers are of two kinds: laser amplifiers and feedback amplifiers. Laser amplifiers do not have an optical cavity, while the feedback amplifiers consist of a suppressed cavity.

From Thorlabs, Inc. 10 Jun 2013

What is a Photodiode?

A photodiode can be described as a photo detector that is capable of converting incident light into voltage or current.

5 Jun 2013

Brightness Unit - Definitions, Units and Conversions of Commonly Used Brightness Units

27 Jun 2008

Refractive Index - Refractive Index of Common Gemstones and Materials

Different types of media have different refractive properties. The amount of refraction for a given material is known as the refractive index.

15 May 2008

Synthetic Aperture Radar - What is Synthetic Aperture Radar and How Does it Work?

Synthetic aperture radar or commonly abbreviated to as SAR provides high resolution imagery by taking the advantages of the intricate information processing capacity of today's digital electronics and the long-range propagation characteristics of radar signals.

18 Apr 2008

Optical Mouse - How an Optical Mouse Work

The mouse is an input tool designed to control objects on the display screen. The mouse senses these movements and is transmitted to the computer in order for it to react in an appropriate manner.

28 Mar 2008