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LPSS Lasers: A Technology Withstanding the Test of Time
LPSS Lasers: A Technology Withstanding the Test of Time
Basics of Lamp-Pumped Solid State (LPSS) Lasers As the trailblazer for many modern day laser designs, LPSS lasers are a mature technology that have been around since the invention of the first laser. The ...
Diffraction Gratings: An Essential Tool in Modern Spectrometry Techniques
Diffraction Gratings: An Essential Tool in Modern Spectrometry Techniques
Introduction to Diffraction Gratings Diffraction gratings are optical components that diffract and separate light into several beams at different angles by wavelength. Their working principle is hinged ...
Ultrafast Lasers: High Power Precision in the Blink of an Eye
Ultrafast Lasers: High Power Precision in the Blink of an Eye
Introduction to Ultrafast Lasers The ultrafast laser is a category of laser that emits ultrashort light pulses with time spans of femtoseconds or picoseconds. To put this in perspective, ultrafast lasers ...
What Are Optical Parametric Oscillators?
What Are Optical Parametric Oscillators?
Introduction to Optical Parametric Oscillators In 1961, Peter Franken and his group at the University of Michigan were the first to use  nonlinear materials to produce optical harmonics. This method ...
DPSS Laser Systems: Offering a High Power, Compact Solution to Growing Industries
DPSS Laser Systems: Offering a High Power, Compact Solution to Growing Industries
Basics of Operation There are many different types of lasers available in todays photonics market, however, Diode Pumped Solid State (DPSS) laser systems are a reliable and widely-used technology. Simply ...
Laser Crystals: A Powerful Gain Medium for Laser Applications
Laser Crystals: A Powerful Gain Medium for Laser Applications
How do lasers work? This blog spends much time discussing the use and the applications of lasers, but how do they work? Lasers emit a coherent light beam from a cavity. The term “laser” is actually an ...
Interferometers: Small Measurements with Big Technology
Interferometers: Small Measurements with Big Technology
Introduction A single human hair is approximately 80,000-100,000 nanometers wide. Now, imagine a distance that measures several hundred times smaller than a human hair. Such small distances are often ...
Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM): Altering Light With Sound
Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM): Altering Light With Sound
Introduction: Acousto-Optic Modulator Optical setups require extreme precision, and researchers must often implement modulators to adjust the frequency, amplitude, wavelength, and direction of their laser ...
EOM: Manipulating Light for High-Precision Results
EOM: Manipulating Light for High-Precision Results
Introduction to Electro-Optic Modulators (EOM) As discussed in last week’s article, optics research requires precisely controlling the responsive and unwieldy entity of light. Advancements in electro-optic ...
Deformable Mirror: Capturing Precise Images in Outer Space
Deformable Mirror: Capturing Precise Images in Outer Space
Adaptive Optics Introduction The field of optics studies the behavior of light – a form of substance with a characteristic wavelengths ranging from about 400 to 700 nanometers for visible light to as ...