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Lasers 101: Technical Terms

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.



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