Photonics Dictionary

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VSTEP

vertical to surface transmission electrophotonic device

wafer

In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a semiconducting material, usually crystalline silicon. Wafers serve as the...

wave

1. An undulation or vibration; a form of movement by which all radiant energy of the electromagnetic spectrum is estimated to travel. 2. A type of surface defect, usually due to improper polishing.

wavefront

A wavefront refers to the continuous surface or boundary representing points in a wave that are in phase, meaning they have the same phase or position in their respective cycles. In simpler terms,...

wedge

An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles. Wedges divert light toward their thicker portions, and may be circular,...

whispering gallery mode

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or sound waves, are trapped and circulate along the periphery of a curved...

white-light interferometer -> optical profiler

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to millimeter-scale step heights. A standard arrangement includes an illumination source,...

window

1. A piece of glass with plane parallel surfaces used to admit light into an optical system and to exclude dirt and moisture. 2. A particular region of the electromagnetic spectrum that has been...

Wolter telescope

A grazing incidence mirror telescope with concentric conic surfaces having a single common point: a paraboloid-hyperboloid combination with two internal reflections.

wood lens

A type of radial gradient lens that can focus light even though its surfaces are flat.

x-ray phase contrast microscopy

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...

Young's construction

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

zeta particle

The difference in electrokinetic potential between the stationary liquid connected to a solid phase surface and the mobile portion of the liquid's diffuse layer.

zones

1. In a polished surface, concentric waves that appear as zones in Newton's rings when a test glass is applied. 2. An arrangement of crystal faces that come together in a series of edges, all of...

Photonics Dictionary

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