Term: biphotonic excitation https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.B00668 Definition: Simultaneous (coherent) absorption of two photons (either same or different wavelength), the energy of excitation being the sum of the energies of the two photons. Also called two-photon excitation. Note: This term is sometimes also used for a two-step absorption. Related Terms: 1) absorption (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00036). 2) photons (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04627). 3) wavelength (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.W06659). 4) two-photon excitation (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.T06541). Source: PAC, 2007, 79, 293. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry, 3rd edition (IUPAC Recommendations 2006)' on page 308 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200779030293) Citation: 'biphotonic excitation' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.B00668 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.