Optical cross section

Optical Cross Section or OCS is a value which describes the maximum amount of optical flux reflected back to the source. The standard unit of measurement is . It is dependent on the geometry and the reflectivity at a particular wavelength of an object. Optical cross section is useful in fields such as LIDAR. In the field of Radar this is referred to Radar Cross Section. Objects such as license plates on automobiles have a high optical cross section to maximize the laser return to the speed detector gun.