mode-lockingn.
/ˈməʊdˌlɒkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈmoʊdˌlɑkɪŋ/ Physics.
A technique in which the phase of each mode of oscillation in a laser is locked to those of the two adjacent modes, so that a fixed-phase relationship arises between all the modes, resulting in the emission at intervals of about a nanosecond of short trains of extremely short pulses whose duration is of the order of picoseconds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > laser > [noun] > pattern of variation > producing short pulses
mode-locking1965
1965 IEEE Jrnl. Quantum Electronics 1 16/1 (heading) Effect of mode-locking.
1967 Science 23 June 1558/3 In the first experimental demonstration of ‘mode-locking’, helium-neon and argon lasers were used.
1988 J. Gleick Chaos (U.K. ed.) 293 This phenomenon, in which one regular cycle locks into another, is now called entrainment, or mode locking.
1992 IEEE Jrnl. Quantum Electronics 28 2203/1 In the past, picosecond optical pulse generation from diode lasers has been accomplished by mode-locking and gain switch techniques.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1965