Photonics Dictionary

Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple flexures that experiences vertical displacement during horizontal motion; it is...

The movement of an object seen through a refracting prism toward the apex of a prism.

The formula that gives the wavelength of maximum spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody: λmax = 2898/T(µm) The radiation at this λmax can be calculated as follows:...

The minimum energy required to induce atomic and molecular separation or displacement due to incident intense laser irradiation.

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...

An optical element that measures the phase difference between two components of elliptically polarized light to correct for mechanical or optical displacement.

Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems. The major contributors are mutual core displacement and fiber axis tilt. It is observed in both permanent splices and...

For an optical table, the amount of displacement that occurs when a heavy load is placed or moved on the surface. To measure deflection under static load, a 113-kg (250 lb) weight is placed in the...

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...

The principle stating that the displacement of spectrum lines is determined by the distance between, and relative velocity of, the observer and the light source. When distance decreases, the lines of...

In the tolerancing of optical elements, the displacement of the optical axis from the mechanical axis.

1. A contour map of a photographic deposit consisting of lines and curves that join points of equal density. 2. The portrayal of a photograph's points of equal density in hues of yellow, cyan and...

A method of measuring flow velocity by seeding the flow with neutrally buoyant particles and using a pulsed laser to holographically record particle displacement during a short time period. An...

In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs in the optical system. This phenomenon is often observed in certain types of...

A type of fiber optic sensor that responds to a change in the intensity of received light caused by the displacement or other phenomena being measured.

A set of photodiodes with no gaps between them that can sense the displacement of a spot of light anywhere on the sensing area.

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as an electron) to an oscillating electric field. It is particularly employed...

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...

A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...

In optical fiber, sharp but microscopic curvatures that create local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial wavelength displacements of a few millimeters. One frequent cause is longitudinal...

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...

1. The angular displacement of the plane of polarization of light passing through a medium. 2. The azimuthal displacement of the field of view achieved with a rotating prism.

A surveying device used to measure vertical displacement of target centers of scale lines from a horizontal plane generated by up to 360° of sweep around its precision vertical axis.

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical quantity. In such sensors, variations in the phase of the signal are...

Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or displacement. Piezoelectric materials exhibit the piezoelectric effect, which...

The power, expressed in prism diopters, that is the linear displacement, in centimeters, produced by the prism one meter away.

Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA sequences under isothermal conditions, meaning it does not require the...

The displacement of spectrum lines, as determined by the increasing distance between, and the relative velocity of, the observer and a light source, causing the lines to move toward the red portion...

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system. It is widely used in adaptive optics systems to correct distortions and...

A slight displacement in the position of a spectral line because of an alteration in frequency, as a result, in turn, of a cause such as the Doppler effect.

A measuring instrument used for surface profiling and quantifying the roughness of a material. The stylus is placed on the surface of the material at a given contact force, then is moved laterally...

In television, a lateral displacement of the lines from their normal position due to the instability of a synchronizing circuit. Visually, it appears as though parts of the images had been torn away.

Image displacement by a decentered lens, rotated on a chuck whose axis of rotation passes through the geometrical center of the rim of the lens, when the light source is at an infinite distance. It...

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields, including electronics, acoustics, and instrumentation, to facilitate the...

A system used to measure very small displacement by electrical means.