Photonics Dictionary

Light perceived as achromatic, that is, without hue.

The alteration and reduction of color with the addition of white light. The perceived color shift that occurs as the monochromatic-white combination meets the eye and is interpreted by the brain. The...

Least value of color value combinations which gives white light; minimum purity as determined to be white.

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

Ratio, to the luminance of a test color, of the luminance of the spectrum color that matches the test color when mixed with white light.

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

A single wavelength of light that matches the color of a given sample when combined in suitable proportions with white light and a suitable adjustment of intensity.

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that exhibits unique electrical and optical properties. Gallium nitride is...

Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current passes through them. These LEDs are constructed using gallium nitride...

A hologram in which the image of an object, or the object itself, is located near the hologram recording plane, for optimum image reconstruction. Because the images are close to the hologram plane,...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

A hologram formed by reconstruction of multicolor wavefronts. The system used to produce the hologram is designed to combine the different colored wavefronts of the separate illuminating sources, and...

1.) Generally, the electromagnetic spectrum within the wavelength region extending from the vacuum ultraviolet at 40 nm to the far-infrared at 1 mm. 2.) The wavelength or color distribution...

A set of three colored lights which, when mixed, give the sensation of white light. The set used in color television, for example, is red, green, blue (RGB).

RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is widely used in various electronic displays, such as computer monitors,...

The optical phenomenon in which white light dispersed by small particles in suspension appears blue when viewed through a suitable Nicol prism.

The basic process of color photography whereby colors are subtracted from white light by means of filters, making all colors and intensities available.

An extremely wide emission spectrum generated by the nonlinear effects created when a high peak power from a short-pulse laser is focused into a water or carbon tetrachloride cell. The resulting...

The arc formed when the rare gas xenon is excited electrically and emits a brilliant white light. Xenon is used to fill electronic and stroboscopic flashlamps, and also large discharge tubes for...

A high-intensity source of incoherent white light in which a capacitor is discharged through a tube of xenon gas; often used as a source of pumping radiation for various optically excited lasers.