All articles starting with L

Laser cutting

Laser cutting is a thermal, non-contact manufacturing process in which a focused laser beam melts or vaporizes material and a gas jet blows the molten material out of the cut.

Laser deposition

Laser deposition, or pulsed laser deposition, is a physical vapor deposition method in which a pulsed laser ablates a target to form a thin film on a substrate.

Laser designator

A laser designator is a device, carried by a soldier, vehicle, or aircraft, that paints a target with pulsed laser energy a guided weapon's seeker can home on.

Laser desorption electrospray ionization

Laser desorption electrospray ionization (LDESI) is an ambient ionization method for mass spectrometry, introduced by Shiea and colleagues in 2005, that analyzes unprepared solid samples at atmospheric pressure.

Laser desorption ionization

Laser desorption ionization (LDI) is a mass spectrometry method in which a pulsed laser desorbs and ionizes molecules from a sample surface, including its MALDI variant.

Laser diffraction

Laser diffraction is a particle-sizing technique that converts the angular pattern of laser light scattered by a dispersed sample into a volume-based particle size distribution.

Laser diode

The laser diode, also called a semiconductor or injection laser, is an electrically pumped semiconductor laser used in optical storage, fiber communications, and laser pumping.

Laser diode rate equations

The laser diode rate equations are a pair of coupled differential equations describing carrier and photon densities in a semiconductor laser, yielding threshold current and modulation response.

Laser directed energy deposition

Laser directed energy deposition (L-DED), also called laser powder directed energy deposition, is a metal additive manufacturing method that builds parts layer by layer with a laser-melted powder or wire feedstock.

Laser doping

Laser doping is a semiconductor fabrication technique in which a pulsed laser locally melts silicon so dopants diffuse in, chiefly forming selective emitters under metal contacts in solar cells.

Laser Doppler flowmetry

Laser Doppler flowmetry is a non-invasive optical technique that measures blood flow in tissue from the Doppler shift of laser light scattered by moving red blood cells.

Laser Doppler imaging

Laser Doppler imaging (LDI) is a non-contact optical technique that maps blood perfusion in skin and superficial tissue by scanning a low-power laser beam across the surface.

Laser Doppler velocimeter

The laser Doppler velocimeter, also called a laser Doppler anemometer, is an optical instrument that measures fluid velocity by detecting the Doppler shift of laser light scattered from seed particles.

Laser Doppler velocimetry

Laser Doppler velocimetry is an optical technique that measures fluid velocity at a point from the Doppler shift of laser light scattered by tracer particles, first demonstrated in 1964.

Laser Doppler vibrometer

A laser Doppler vibrometer, or LDV, is a non-contact optical instrument measuring the velocity of vibrating surfaces, from MEMS devices to bridges, via the Doppler shift of laser light.

Laser Doppler vibrometry

Laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) is a non-contact optical technique that measures surface vibration velocity and displacement by detecting the Doppler shift of laser light scattered from the moving surface.

Laser drilling

Laser drilling is a machining process that forms holes by vaporizing material with a focused pulsed laser beam, used where conventional drills struggle, such as micro-holes in hard materials.

Laser engraving

Laser engraving is a manufacturing process in which a focused laser beam removes surface material layer by layer, producing permanent recessed marks on metal, wood, acrylic, and other materials.

Laser enrichment

Laser enrichment is a family of uranium isotope separation methods using tunable lasers to selectively excite uranium-235 atoms or molecules, with AVLIS, MLIS, and SILEX the main approaches.

Oct 22, 2026

Laser excitation of thorium-229 isomer

Laser excitation of thorium-229 isomer is the resonant optical driving of the low-lying excited nuclear state of thorium-229, first achieved in 2024 and the basis for proposed nuclear clocks.

Laser flash analysis

Laser flash analysis is a fast, non-contact method that heats a small disk with a laser pulse and records the rear-face temperature rise to measure thermal diffusivity.

Oct 22, 2026

Laser foil printing

Laser foil printing is a metal additive manufacturing process that builds parts layer by layer from thin metal foils, developed at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Laser guide star

A laser guide star is an artificial star created in the upper atmosphere by a laser projected from a telescope site, used as a reference for adaptive optics.

Laser hair removal

Laser hair removal uses focused light, via selective photothermolysis of melanin at 600–1200 nm, to damage follicles and reduce hair growth. Cleared by FDA as Class II devices for permanent hair reduction, not removal.

Laser hardening

Laser hardening, also called laser transformation hardening or laser quenching, is a surface heat treatment that hardens steel and cast iron with a scanning laser beam, commercialized in the 1970s.

Laser ignition

Laser ignition is a combustion-ignition method in which a focused pulsed laser beam creates a plasma spark in a fuel–air mixture, replacing the spark plug in engines and combustors.

Laser interferometer

A laser interferometer is a measurement instrument that determines distance or displacement by counting interference fringes of laser light, used to calibrate machines and enabling LIGO's gravitational-wave detection.

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is an ESA-led space gravitational-wave observatory with NASA participation, planned to launch in 2035 with three spacecraft flying 2.5 million km apart.

Laser interferometric displacement measurement

Laser interferometric displacement measurement determines changes in position by counting laser interference fringes; displacement measuring interferometers, sold since the early 1970s, are the reference standard for dimensional calibration.