Photonics Dictionary

An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and coma. Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays...

Light interference fringes that can be viewed on a screen near a biprism.

An enclosure whose walls are coated to absorb completely all radiation striking them.

A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference beams so that, by suitable orientation of an anisotropic crystal, the optical...

The surface of an element of a compound lens that will produce the cemented interface. The curves of this interface are called inside curves. To facilitate cementing, the two inside curves should...

An interferometer formed by two similar concave spherical mirrors arranged with the center of one sphere on the other mirror. In this instrument the field is more concentrated by the axis of the...

The curved boundary between two optical media of different refractive indices, which causes convergence.

The interaction of superimposed light from two separate sources that results in a combined intensity that is less than the sum of their individual intensities before they were superimposed.

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 device that produces an interferogram that can be directly related to the temperature gradient and thereby provides a direct measure of the convective heat transfer coefficients.

Also called DLIP, a high-speed, high-resolution processing technique that uses high-power, pulsed laser systems to directly ablate micro- and nanoperiodic structures with different features on large...

Interferometric measurement of the interference pattern recorded when a complex object is illuminated by two laser pulses that interfere and form the pattern to be evaluated.

A method for detecting vibration amplitudes analogous to image holography, except that the film emulsion is replaced by a television target.

A telescopic eyepiece comprising five or six simple lenses in the form of three doublets or two doublets and a singlet.

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set parallel to one another by spacers so that lightwaves may bounce back and forth...

A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and associated working groups that will make fiber optic components from...

A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the Twyman-Green, the Fizeau interferometer has fewer optical components, does...

An optical reflector with the reflective coating applied to the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates the ghost image formed with second-surface mirrors.

An interferometer similar in construction to a Fabry-Perot interferometer but having a rear mirror with high reflectivity, allowing light to escape only at the partially reflective front mirror.

A very high bandwidth communication line often used in fiber optics.

The three-dimensional interference pattern of fringes that is recorded on a holographic plate to facilitate the study of a complex object.

The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to diverge into two directions, one of which directly strikes a holographic...

The splitting of an element's spectral line as the result of the interactions between the electron spin and the spins of adjacent magnetic nuclei, or the presence of several isotopes in the sample...

That object distance at which a camera must be focused so that the far depth of field just extends to infinity. The near limit of the depth of field is then half the hyperfocal distance. For normal...

An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector outputs. With an intensity interferometer, the primary collectors need not be...

That angle found between a pair of adjacent faces of a crystal.

1. The additive process whereby the amplitudes of two or more overlapping waves are systematically attenuated and reinforced. 2. The process whereby a given wave is split into two or more waves by,...

Color resulting from the interference between two light beams.

A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently, these filters are made up of thin layers of metals and dielectrics,...

A device, consisting of a diode activated by an interference pulse, that is designed to minimize the white spots on a television screen that are intensified by interference.

A special form of microscope that utilizes interference for observing and measuring the phase and optical thickness in completely transparent objects and specimen. The object is placed in one beam...

The spectrum produced by the interference of light provided that the source used to create the interference has a broad enough emittance to form a spectrum.

A photographic or electronic recording of an optical interference pattern.

The method by which interferograms are produced.

An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a length in terms of the length of a wave of light by using interference...

Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by measuring the change in optical pathlength through the material. By moving...

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy efficiency and ability to produce high-quality reflective color displays....