Photonics Dictionary

A framework or latticework having an even arrangement of rods, or any other long narrow objects with interstices between them, used to disperse light or other radiation by interference between wave...

A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into multiple beams, often redirecting them at specific angles. It is based on the...

An optical instrument used to isolate a narrow bandwidth of optical radiation using a diffraction grating as the dispersive element. See also monochromator.

A specific, right-angle prism having a transmission grating replicated on its hypotenuse face and used in applications requiring a system that can produce in-line viewing for one wavelength.

A spectrometer that uses a grating to diffract light into specific wavelengths.

A spectroscope having a diffraction grating for the resolution of light of various wavelengths.

The substrate upon which a diffraction grating will be ruled. It must be dimensionally stable, and the surface must be polished to an accurate flat or spherical form as required by the grating. The...

A filter that separates light into many colors via Bragg's law. Generally refers to a fiber Bragg grating used in optical communications to separate wavelengths.

A reflecting grating ruled on a concave spherical surface that not only disperses the light but focuses the spectrum. The great advantage of this grating lies in the fact that no separate collimating...

The generation of a grating on a concave spherical blank by the holographic process. In this way, ghost images and intense stray light are avoided.

A crystal that may serve as a diffraction grating if mounted effectively.

A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced, uniform-intensity spots or beams. It is named after its inventor, Dr. Herbert Dammann. The...

A shallow, fine-pitch diffraction grating having a precise dielectric overcoating that experimentally has absorbed wavelength-specific incident light that is polarized in the P-plane.

A spectrograph that uses a diffraction grating as its dispersive element in place of a prism, and yields greater resolving power, more dispersion and a linear spectrum.

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

A diffraction grating with lines and grooves formed so as to concentrate the radiation of a particular wavelength into one specified order. This device is efficient when used in the infrared region...

A specialized form of diffraction grating consisting of assembled glass plates of equal thickness that resemble a flight of stairs. The light enters through the largest plate at the end and emerges...

A grating with very coarse rulings to match the long wavelengths in the far-infrared region. In the most efficient ruling method, grooves are cut in plane, solid aluminum alloy blanks.

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...

A grating used as a reflectance filter, particularly in the far-infrared. Small plane gratings, blazed for the wavelength of the unwanted radiation, are produced for this purpose.

A superthin, highly reflective mirror.

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and detector used for measuring the diffuse reflectance or transmittance of...

A grating with ridges of rectangular cross section, generally equal in width to the space between. This type of grating may be used as a beam divider.

A computer-generated, phase-and-amplitude, off-axis hologram made by a multi-exposure technique that uses three computer generated transmission masks. Each mask controls one fixed-phase component of...

A coarse diffraction grating that is used to form a scale of intensities to determine the relative magnitudes of stars. The grating is placed over the objective of a telescope to form a diffraction...

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced, parallel slits or rulings. These slits or rulings act as obstacles to the...

A device for measuring diffraction grating efficiency at any angle of incidence, consisting of a reflectometer wherein the detector rotates around the grating at a specific distance and is attached...

A transmission or reflecting grating with a flat or plane surface requiring a lens or concave mirror to focus the spectrum.

The generation of a grating on a flat surface by means of a series of interference fringes formed by a holographic process. See holographic grating.

A grating in which the wires or rods are set radially within a circular structure.

A reflection grating is an optical component that consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel reflecting surfaces or grooves. These grooves are typically ruled or etched onto a flat substrate or...

A reproduction made of an original grating -- usually by casting thermosetting plastics onto the original -- to avoid the high expense of making the original gratings.

A transparent plate ruled with black lines and equal, clear spaces. It is used as a multiple knife-edge for testing a concave mirror.

A three-dimensional grating designed with thin metal sheets to remain opaque to all but one specific and predetermined wave.

When, for example, a beam of monochromatic light passes through a diffraction grating, the emergent rays that have remained undeviated are included in the zero spectral order. The light flux in the...

A transparent diffraction grating that serves to transmit light.

A two- or three-dimensional space grating formed when ultrasonic beams with varied paths of propagation intersect.

The space between diffracting centers of an ultrasonic wave that is forming certain light diffraction spectra.

A grating that specularly reflects the specified long radiation wavelengths and diffracts the shorter wavelengths off in known directions, eliminating the interference of randomly scattered radiation.

A polyethylene grating that transmits the long wavelengths and diffracts shorter wavelengths in controlled directions.

A broadband continuum resonator that confines a wide range of wavelengths. From the optical confinement a single wavelength may be released by means of a tuning grating.

A bulk crystalline optic which permits the propagation of light through a volume of index altered material. The variation in refractive index along the material volume is due to a piezoelectric...

1. Synonymous with radioactivity. The intensity of a radioactive source illustrated as the number of atoms disintegrating in unit time, or as the number of scintillations or other effects observed...

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and simulate the propagation of optical waves, particularly in the context of wave...

In an astigmatic grating, the image of the entrance slit located at the primary focus.

Spectrometric analysis of the distinct and characteristic spectra of atoms of elements. The atoms are energized to emit radiant energy, which, when dispersed by a prism or diffraction grating,...