Technical Notes

To assess the quality, performance, and characteristics of laser diodes, manufacturers often perform exhaustive testing which requires electro-optical, spectral and spatial characterization …

When equipped with high-performance thermal imaging systems, UAVs, also known as drones, lend themselves to a wide range of defense, government, and commercial applications.

A laser is a source of coherent light. It contains an optical oscillator that increases the amplitude of an optical field while maintaining its phase. This coherent amplification is …

Variable laser attenuators consist of essentially two optical components, a half waveplate, and a polarizer with a good extinction ratio, and allow for continuous power control for …

Measurement techniques of the power, flux (equivalent to power but measured in units of lumens), and spectrum of LEDs is not very different from that of traditional light sources.

The most common laser light characteristics include: wavelength, gain bandwidth, monochromaticity, spatial and temporal profiles, collimation, output power, coherence and polarizat …

The critical components of a laser are a gain medium (acts as medium for population inversion), a pump source (serves as energy source for inverting population), and a resonator (provides …

The first way to perform laser wavelength tuning uses a wavelength-selective element to choose a specific portion under a gain bandwidth to lase. The second method of wavelength tuning …

Semiconductor lasers offer the benefits of efficiency, electrical pumping, and the ability to easily integrate with modern electronics which contribute to their ubiquitous usage.

The incoherent light sources discussed here share several characteristics that distinguish them from lasers. Incoherent light gives rise to radiation, which is emitted from the source …

Radiometry is the measurement of energy or power in electromagnetic radiation fields or light. The average output power is the most common radiometric measurement since many light sources, …

The characteristics of such high-speed photoreceivers as well as their associated applications are the subjects of this technical note.

The main types of photoreceivers are those that can detect optical signals with fast temporal responses or those containing high frequency components.

Optical mirrors consist of metallic or dielectric films deposited directly on a substrate such as glass, differing from common mirrors, which are coated on the back surface of the …

A diffraction grating is essentially a multi-slit surface. It provides angular dispersion, i.e., the ability to separate wavelengths based on the angle that they emerge from the gr …

Lenses are essentially light-controlling elements and so are exploited for light gathering and image formation.

In this technical note, motion devices are discussed first in the context of manual positioning. This discussion is equally applicable to automated positioning and motorized drivers …

Details regarding the various factors that impact the motion of these devices and how to characterize their positioning precision and accuracy are the subjects of this technical no …

Life test studies are used to collect laser diode lifetime data under carefully controlled operating conditions. These data are then used to develop statistical models that can predict …

Laser diodes are characterized by their inherent physical properties within five distinct categories, including: electrical, spatial, spectral, optical, and dynamic properties.