Photonics Dictionary

Any photographic medium that, when chemically developed, produces an exact photographic reproduction of the original.

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer scale. This technology enables the positioning of objects with extremely high...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

The change in refractive index that occurs as acoustic vibrations are transmitted through an optical material.The index changes are periodic in relation to the frequency, spatial orientation, and...

The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive aerial photographs by more than 50 percent.

An instrument designed to measure angles in azimuth; used in general topographic work and military gunnery.

A physical variable that is proportionally similar to another variable over a specified range. An analog recording contains data that is similar to the source.

Color vision whereby abnormal proportions of three colors are needed for color matching.

Having human characteristics or behavior.

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials science, and biology. It is a type of scanning probe microscope that...

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...

A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes the length required for the polarization to rotate 360 degrees. For a given...

A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the produced flux densities are equal. The luminous intensities of the two...

The loss of optical power in an optical fiber because radiation escapes through its bends. The radiation loss caused by fiber bending is proportional to the bend radius.

Noise over a specified frequency range, in which the spectral density is proportional to the frequency instead of being independent of it, as in white noise.

The law stating that the amount of chemical change produced is proportional to the amount of light absorbed. Actually, the change is also dependent on the intensity of light -- a fact named the...

A local area network topology in which all nodes are tapped off a single cable, and all hear every transmission on the cable.

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

Proportions of standard primaries (tristimulus values) required for a color match; ratios of each tristimulus value of a color to their sum. In the CIE colorimetric system, designated X, Y and Z.

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

An optical instrument used to determine the distance to a target being viewed. Two similar optical systems view the target via 45° mirrors at the ends of a fixed baseline. One system creates the...

The combination of two or more different small-molecule monomers into a polymer.

A formula indicating that, for an imaging lens system, the image brightness for off-axis points will fall off at a rate proportional to the cos4 of the off-axis field angle.

An instrument designed to measure the proportion of light emitted by a source in the blue region of the spectrum.

The concept of the de Broglie wavelength exploits the wave-particle duality of quantum physics by associating all matter (of all sizes) with wavelike properties. The de Broglie wavelength states that...

The process of reducing the size of an image by removing a certain proportion of the samples produced from the original image.

Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to assist clients in various aspects of product development, system design, or...

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the contrast of transparent...

A photosensitizing drug used in conjunction with photodynamic therapy.

A device that provides simple and reliable laser power and energy measurement. Essentially a heat flux sensor producing an output proportional to the power, rather than the energy input.

In astronomy, the relation that states that the intensity of a star's visible radiation is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from which it is viewed.

Temperature of the blackbody having a spectral power distribution approximately proportional to the test source at all wavelengths; it follows that the two have the same chromaticity.

A single wavelength of light that matches the color of a given sample when combined in suitable proportions with white light and a suitable adjustment of intensity.

Three proportional coefficients labeled Am, Bmn, and Bnm, that respectively characterize the rate of spontaneous emission, induced emission, and absorption of radiation by an atom, ion or molecule.

Radiation emitted from vibrating charged particles. A combination of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that propagates through otherwise empty space with the velocity of light. This constant...

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific substances, such as antibodies, antigens, proteins, hormones, or other...

A family of lenses commonly used in scan systems for reading or printing documents. The lens must be designed such that the image height is proportional to the scan angle (Theta), not the tangent of...

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained with a Fourier transform spectrometer when detector noise prevails, which exceeds the SNR of a scanning spectrometer in the same time by a factor proportional...