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glossary

Laser: acronym of : « light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation » ; device emitting spatially and temporally coherent light radiation based on the stimulated emission
Fabry Perot cavity: resonating cavity made of two reflecting surfaces
Mirror: surface reflecting light rays symmetrically regarding the normal to the surface (specular reflexion) and therefore without scattering them
Optical length of a cavity: optical length corresponding to a single round trip in the cavity
Stability condition of a resonator: condition defining if transverse modes of a cavity may exist or not
Stability coefficient ( laser cavity ): parameter depending on radii of curvature of the mirrors and on the distance between mirrors and which value is between 0 and 1 when transverse modes of a cavity may exist