All articles starting with L

Laser tattoo removal

Laser tattoo removal is a dermatologic treatment that uses short, high-intensity laser pulses to fragment tattoo pigment so the body clears it, usually requiring 4 to 15 sessions.

Laser threshold

The laser threshold is the point at which laser emission just begins, where the active medium's gain equals the cavity's total loss; below it the device only amplifies.

Laser tracker

A laser tracker is a portable coordinate measuring instrument that follows a reflective target with a laser beam, measuring 3D positions tens of meters away to tens-of-micrometers accuracy.

Laser transmission welding

Laser transmission welding is a non-contact process that joins plastics by passing laser light through a transparent part into an absorbing part, melting the interface.

Laser triangulation

Laser triangulation is a non-contact optical technique in which a laser beam or line is projected onto a surface and a camera measures distance from the resulting triangle geometry.

Laser ultrasonics

Laser ultrasonics is a non-destructive testing method using lasers to both generate and detect ultrasonic waves, enabling non-contact inspection of hot, rough, or hard-to-reach surfaces.

Laser wakefield acceleration

Laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), proposed by Tajima and Dawson in 1979, uses intense laser pulses to drive plasma waves whose teravolt-per-meter fields accelerate electrons compactly.

Sep 17, 2026

Laser weapon

A laser weapon, also called a laser gun, is a directed energy weapon that uses a concentrated high-energy laser beam, rather than a projectile, to dazzle, damage, or destroy a target.

Laser wire (accelerator diagnostics)

A laser wire is a non-invasive accelerator beam profile monitor that scans a finely focused laser across a charged particle beam to measure its transverse size.

Laser-assisted cataract surgery

Laser-assisted cataract surgery, also known as femtosecond laser cataract surgery, uses a femtosecond laser for incisions, capsulotomy, and lens fragmentation, while phacoemulsification and lens insertion stay manual.

Laser-assisted machining

Laser-assisted machining is a hybrid cutting process in which a laser softens the workpiece ahead of the cutting tool, easing the machining of hard alloys and ceramics.

Laser-assisted synthesis

Laser-assisted synthesis is a family of materials chemistry methods using laser irradiation to form nanomaterials, thin films, or compounds, best developed as laser synthesis and processing of colloids.

Laser-driven gamma-ray source

A laser-driven gamma-ray source produces MeV gamma rays by directing intense laser pulses onto matter, mainly through inverse Compton scattering, bremsstrahlung, or betatron radiation, aiming at compact, high-brightness sources.

Laser-driven ion acceleration

Laser-driven ion acceleration produces fast ion beams by striking thin foil or gas targets with ultraintense laser pulses, pursued as a compact alternative to conventional accelerators.

Laser-driven ion acceleration with relativistic transparency

Laser-driven ion acceleration with relativistic transparency is a laser-plasma regime in which relativistic electron motion makes a solid target transparent, letting the pulse deposit energy throughout and accelerate ions to higher energies.

Laser-driven magnetic field generation

Laser-driven magnetic field generation is a high-energy-density physics technique in which an intense laser pulse striking a capacitor-coil target generates quasi-static magnetic fields approaching kilotesla strength.

Laser-driven neutron source

A laser-driven neutron source (LDNS) is a device that produces neutrons with a high-power laser, offering compactness, short pulses, and transportability for imaging, materials science, and security screening.

Laser-driven proton radiography

Laser-driven proton radiography is an imaging diagnostic in which an intense laser pulse on a thin metal foil accelerates protons through an object to image its electromagnetic fields.

Laser-free trapped-ion qubit control

Laser-free trapped-ion qubit control performs quantum logic gates on trapped ions using microwaves, radiofrequency signals, and magnetic or electric field gradients rather than precisely aligned laser beams.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic emission technique in which a laser pulse forms a plasma, determining elemental composition with little sample preparation, even at standoff distances.

Laser-induced electron diffraction

Laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED) is a tabletop method in which a strong laser ionizes a molecule and drives an electron back to diffract from it, imaging molecular structure.

Laser-induced fluorescence

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopy method in which a laser tuned to an absorption transition excites atoms or molecules, and the emitted fluorescence identifies and measures them.

Laser-induced forward transfer

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is a nozzle-free printing technique in which a pulsed laser propels material from a thin donor film onto a receiving substrate, depositing one voxel per pulse.

Laser-induced graphene

Laser-induced graphene is a porous, conductive graphene-like carbon made by lasing carbon-rich materials such as polyimide, first reported in 2014 by James Tour's group at Rice University.

Laser-induced periodic surface structures

Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), or ripples, are quasi-periodic grating-like surface patterns that self-organize when intense laser pulses strike solids such as metals, semiconductors, and insulators.

Laser-plasma instabilities

Laser-plasma instabilities (LPI), including stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering, arise when intense laser light interacts with plasma, draining energy and degrading compression in inertial confinement fusion.

Laser-produced plasma X-ray source

A laser-produced plasma X-ray source is a device that focuses high-power laser pulses onto solid, liquid, or gas targets, creating plasma that emits X-rays for time-resolved diffraction, spectroscopy, and microscopy.

Laser–plasma interaction

Laser–plasma interaction (LPI) is the physics of how intense laser light couples to ionized matter, producing instabilities like Raman scattering that limit inertial confinement fusion and enable plasma accelerators.

Sep 17, 2026

LaserDisc

LaserDisc is a 12-inch analog optical videodisc format introduced in 1978 by MCA and Philips as DiscoVision, offering better quality than VHS but selling mainly in Japan.