Photonics Dictionary

A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In other words, semiconductors have properties that are intermediate between...

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...

Impurity in a semiconductor or any other electroluminescent device capable of inducing hole conduction and accepting a valence band electron to produce an acceptor energy level.

That layer in a semiconductor injection laser or light-emitting diode that provides optical gain.

The process of heating and slowly cooling a solid material, like glass or metal, to stabilize its thermal, electrical or optical properties or, as in semiconductor materials, to reverse lattice...

A spectral phenomenon in which the degree of the photoresponse of an illuminated semiconductor is determined by the wavelength composition of the incident light.

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by converting incoming photons into electrical current. It operates based on the...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to automatically inspect and detect defects or anomalies in products. AOI systems use...

A photovoltaic cell designed so that light travels through the front electrode and a semiconductor before it comes to the barrier layer.

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...

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed. It represents the energy difference between the valence band, which is the...

Refers to transistors in which the working current flows through two types of semiconductor material: N- and P-type. In bipolar transistors, the working current consists of both positive and negative...

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

The darkening of the laser facet of a semiconductor laser diode. It can be prevented by placing the component in a hermetically sealed enclosure.

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,...

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

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...

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a semiconductor material. Charge-coupled devices are a specific implementation of this...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

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...

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly semiconductor devices like microprocessors, memory chips, and image...

A semiconductor made up of two or more elements, in contrast to those composed of a single element such as germanium or silicon. In a III-V semiconductor, for example, one or more elements having...

A partially filled or empty energy band through which electrons can move easily. The material can therefore carry an electric current. The term is usually applied to semiconductors.

A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator configuration used in laser systems. The term confocal in this context refers to the...

A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these crystals classify them as semiconductors.

A diode with a semiconducting material, such as germanium or silicon, for one electrode, and a fine wire "whisker'' which lies on the semiconductor, as the other electrode. The low capacitance...

Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These...

Decibels referenced to one milliwatt; often used to specify power ratings for semiconductor diode lasers.

Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the UV-A and UV-B regions. The exact wavelength range considered as DUV can...

A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Each mirror element in the film can be...

The region at the PN junction in a semiconductor radiation detector where the potential energies of the two materials create an energy barrier, which results in an electrical field that depletes the...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or chip is attached and electrically connected to a substrate or a package....

A two-electrode device with an anode and a cathode that passes current in only one direction. It may be designed as an electron tube or as a semiconductor device.

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...