| TERM |
|
DEFINITION |
| Angstrom (Å) |
|
Unit of length equal to 10-10 meter |
| Beam Diameter |
|
Calculated distance between two exactly opposed points on a beam at a chosen fraction of peak power |
| Beam Divergence |
|
Increase in the diameter of an initially collimated beam as measured in milliradians (mrad) at specified points |
| CDRH |
|
An acronym for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health |
| CW |
|
Acronym for Continuous Wave |
| Laser |
|
Acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| Laser Diode Module |
|
Small semiconductor laser packaged in a durable housing |
| Micron |
|
Unit of length in the metric system; one-millionth of a meter (1µm=10-6m) |
| Milli |
|
Prefix meaning one-thousandth, 10-3 |
| Millimeter |
|
0.001 meter |
| MRad |
|
Milli-Radian; 1/1000 of a radian used to specify laser beam divergence |
| Nanometer |
|
One billionth of a meter (1nm=10-9m) |
| Watt |
|
Unit of power that produces energy at the rate of 1 joule per second |
| Wavelength |
|
Electromagnetic energy transmitted in the form of a sinusoidal wave, is the physical distance covered by one cycle of this wave. Wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency. |
