Photonics Dictionary

Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in temperature. In other words, it is the production and emission of light by a...

The luminescence of a substance that is produced by energy within it (e.g., radioactive material).

The emission of a photon by the return of an excited carrier from the conduction band to the valence band of a semiconductor along a radiative recombination path. The resulting photoluminescence...

Heatless light emissions from living organisms caused by the combination of oxygen and pigments such as luciferin.

The luminescence of an incandescent material.

Light produced when a metal is bombarded with high-velocity electrons causing small amounts of the metal to vaporize and emit radiation. Also known as electronoluminescence.

A chemical reaction involving the production of light. The reaction of ethylene with ozone is chemiluminescent.

The nonthermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance. The photon emission resulting from electron-hole recombination in a PN junction is one example. This is the...

A microscope in which laser light is delivered through single-mode fibers that replace the pinhole usually used in confocal microscopy. When the Gaussian mode is imaged from the fiber output onto the...

The emission of radiant energy produced by the passage of an electrical current through an appropriate electrolyte in which an electrode, made of certain metals such as aluminum or tantalum, has been...

A technique used for noncontact inspection of semiconductor wafers. The material is illuminated by an excitation source that stimulates photoluminescence; the resulting spectrum is analyzed, yielding...

The state of optically excited luminescence. Luminescence refers to the light emitted by excited atoms or ions as they decay to lower energy levels.

Discharge that results when a doped semiconductor crystal with a PN junction is charged with a low-voltage direct current. The dual process depends on excitation caused by electrical energy...

Luminescence produced by the bombardment of radiant energy such as x-rays, radioactive waves or alpha particles.

The luminescence displayed when particular minerals are irradiated with β-rays and g-rays, after being exposed to nuclear radiation.

The luminescence of a substance resulting from its exposure to ultrasonic waves.

An alternative term for incandescence.

Luminescence that arises from friction and that usually occurs in crystalline materials.

Light that is emitted from a phosphor film applied to the surface of a three-layer thin film, respectively metal, oxide and metal.

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the on-current at each OLED cell or...

Diffuse light emitted by the atmosphere due to the excitation of particles of atmospheric gas. These excited particles release light that is visible from Earth as a faint luminescence in the night...

Observed electroluminescence of zinc sulfide phosphors when excited by an electric field. This effect is the basis for the alternating-current phosphor panel technology.

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

An X-Y electrically addressable series of arrays with individual electron emitters bombarding a phosphor-coated transparent plate. The phosphor is induced into luminescence, similar to traditional...

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. Specifically, fluorescence involves the absorption of...

The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the exciting source is removed. In the process, the subject may be illuminated by...

The ratio between the luminescence of an object and the luminescence of the scattering medium through which it is being viewed.

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to or following its excitation by visible radiant energy.

An intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) camera is an advanced imaging device that combines the capabilities of both an image intensifier and a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor to achieve...

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are widely used in various applications due to their energy efficiency,...

A collector for photovoltaic power generation that consists of a thin plate that strongly absorbs sunlight striking its faces and luminesces efficiently. A large fraction of the luminescence is...

Luminescence is the emission of light from a source that is delayed by more than 10-8 s following excitation.

A line of the Raman spectrum that fulfills Stokes' law because it possesses a wavelength that is greater than the radiation that stimulated the luminescence of the source.

Relative to radiation wavelength, the law that states that the wavelength of luminescence stimulated by radiation always surpasses that of the stimulating radiation.