This page is optimized for large screens. Zooming may cause some display problems.

glossary

Laser: acronym of : « light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation » ; device emitting spatially and temporally coherent light radiation based on the stimulated emission
Waist: position along the propagation axis where a laser beam has the smallest size
Embedded gaussian beam: beam with a gaussian intensity distribution used to simulate a real beam from the gaussian fundamental mode ; characterized by the M-square coefficient representing the ratio between its divergence and that of the fundamental gaussian mode with the same waist size
Refracting surface: surface interfacing two transparent media with different refraction indexes
Wavelength ( of a light wave ): distance between two consecutive identical states of the electric ( or magnetic ) field
Image space: space conjugate of the object space by an optical system
Refraction index: for a transparent medium, ratio between the light speed in the air and the light speed in the medium ; for a reflective surface in the air or vacuum, the refraction index is « - 1 »
M square factor (M2): ratio between the divergence of an embedded gaussian beam and that of the fundamental mode of a laser (gaussian mode) with the same waist size and at the same wavelength