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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
Waist: position along the propagation axis where a laser beam has the smallest size
Wavelength ( of a light wave ): distance between two consecutive identical states of the electric ( or magnetic ) field
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
Elliptical beam: a beam in which « equi-intensity » curves in a plane perpendicular to the propagation axis are elliptical
Intensity ( physical optics ): local parameter proportional to the average energy or power of a light wave per unit area