Photonics Dictionary

One of various types of fluorescent screens used to detect x-ray radiation. Photographic film is mildly sensitive to x-rays, but much more sensitive to light. Hence, in photographing x-ray...

The bending of x-rays by the regular layers of molecules in a crystal acting like a very small diffraction grating. The diffraction pattern so obtained and recorded on film provides a means for...

An instrument that uses a crystal to diffract x-rays for the measurement of the intensities of the diffracted rays.

A film or plate that is usually coated on both sides with a very fast emulsion that is sensitive to x-rays, and used to record x-ray diffraction patterns photographically.

The penetrating capacity of x-rays that is an inverse function of the wavelength.

An image intensifier that consists of an evacuated tube with a large input phosphor screen at one end. The phosphor screen is in contact with a light-sensitive photocathode that emits electrons....

Irradiation of a cylindrical crystal with an x-ray beam resulting in Bragg diffraction that produces a slightly enlarged image.

A method of projecting integrated circuit patterns on a silicon wafer using x-ray wavelengths focused through a special mask.

The method of acquiring characteristic x-ray spectra from microscopic samples by use of the combination of a scanning electron microscope and x-ray spectroscopy.

The study of the physics of x-rays, where the x-rays exhibit properties similar to those of lightwaves. Also called Roentgen optics.

Used for high-resolution surface study with subnanometer resolution. XRIM uses interfacial phase contrast with application of hard x-rays over elementary surface structures availing the observation...

A chart of an x-ray diffraction pattern.

An instrument that is used to chart x-ray diffraction patterns, such as an x-ray spectrometer having photographic or other recording implements.

An instrument designed to produce an x-ray spectrum of a material as an aid in identifying it. This technique is particularly useful when the material cannot be broken down physically.

A diagnostic instrument that uses a photocathode design to see a broad range of x-ray radiation by streaking the photographic image continuously in time. It produces time- and space-resolved...

Also known as an anticathode. An electrode or electrode section that is focused upon by an electron beam and that emits x-rays.

The pressure in the gas region of an x-ray tube that has been reduced below 0.1 mm, the pressure necessary for the tube.

A rare gas used in small high-pressure arc lamps to produce a high-intensity source of light closely resembling the color quality of daylight.

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...

An instrument for eye surgery that directs intense xenon arc light through the transparent cornea lens to the retina where absorption by the pigment epithelium and the choroid produces heat and...

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.

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation, to produce latent...

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with x-rays or gamma rays, to produce latent electrostatic-charge patterns for...

Fluid used to aid in examination of semifinished blanks.

Conventional coordinates for optical system analysis, the X-axis being the horizontal, the Y-axis the vertical and the Z-axis the optical axis of the system.

1. In a plane Cartesian coordinate system, the vertical axis orthogonal to the X-axis. 2. In a quartz crystal structure, the line perpendicular to two opposite parallel faces of the crystal.

The vertical deflection of an image on a cathode-ray tube screen.

A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline material. YAG crystals are known for their exceptional optical properties,...

In the SI system, prefix meaning 10-24. (y).

In the SI system, prefix meaning 1024. (Y).

A method of graphical ray tracing through a boundary surface dividing two media of differing indices of refraction.

The constant equal to the unit stress divided by unit deformation, relative to all values and a substance's proportional restrictions.

The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference patterns between two beams of light from the same source. This was produced by...

The intensity regulation of a cathode-ray tube by alteration of the grid-cathode voltage.

A technique for determining the nonlinear optical properties of a sample material by moving the sample through a focused laser beam and measuring changes in the beam's characteristics, such as...

Broadening of a spectrum that results from the influence of a magnetic field.

The splitting of energy levels of an atom, ion or molecule because of a magnetic field.

A type of semiconductor diode used in voltage-limiting circuits; when voltage reaches a certain value, the device becomes a conductor.

A telescope that is fixed or has a limited degree of movement in a vertical plane; primarily used to determine the position of stars near the zenith.

In the SI system, prefix meaning 10-21. (z).

The introduction of a filter into an imaging system to implement a phase contrast for an intensity mapping of a pure phase image.

A highly flame-retardant material used to jacket fiber optic cables, especially on shipboard applications.

In an interference pattern, that point where there is no difference between the optical paths of the interfacing wavefronts.

A mirror that supplies equal reflectance for both the S-polarization and the P-polarization of a laser for a defined angle of incidence, usually 45°.

In a single-mode optical fiber, the wavelength that causes material dispersion and waveguide dispersion to cancel each other. In a multimode fiber, loose term for the wavelength at which there is a...

The removal of the zero-order component of the Fourier spectrum distribution of an object with a small, opaque absorber or reflector in the Fourier plane, to produce images that appear bright on a...