milliamperes-second - unit measure of electric charge acquired when multiplying the electric current in milliamperes (one thousandth or 10-3 of the standard unit for electric current the ampere) by the time in seconds. It is commonly used to describe the length of time that electrons are produced or passed through a given circuitry.

maser

An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or 'microwave laser' was the first device to produce coherent electromagnetic waves,...

mask

1. A framelike structure that serves to restrict the viewing area of the screen when placed before a television picture tube. 2. In photolithography, a photomask (or mask) is typically a patterned...

mask proximity correction

A technique used in photolithography of computer chips to compensate for errors caused by the proximity effect, which results in variations in size between areas of the mask that have many small...

mask spectrometer

Instrument that uses absorption spectroscopy to detect gases in planetary atmospheres. Dispersed incoming radiation is transmitted to one or more sampling elements, or masks, before reaching the...

masking

In image processing, the assigning of certain portions (or pixels) of an image a constant value of either 0 (black) or 1 (white) as to restrict image processing operations to a specific set of pixels...

masks for evaporation/deposition

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...

mass spectrograph

A device that uses electromagnetic fields to separate electrically charged particles according to their masses. As a beam of charged particles is passed through a mass spectrograph, the result is a...

mass spectrometer

A device used to measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules. It utilizes the Lorentz force generated by external magnetic field on a moving charged particle, in which the...

mass spectrometry

An instrumental technique that utilizes the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles as recorded from a mass spectrometer in order to determine the mass of a particle as well as the chemical makeup,...

mass spectroscope

An instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to sort out the relative masses of atoms and molecules.The same way an optical spectroscope uses a prism to separate light into its various wavelengths,...

material dispersion

The dispersion attributable to the wavelength dependence of the refractive index of the material used in any optical application.

matrix

With respect to television, that part of a color television circuit that combines the I, Q and Y signals, and changes them into single red, green and blue signals applied to the picture-tube grids.

Matrix optics

The linear relationship between input and output optical fields for a given optical system or application that allows the use of a matrix and matrix algebra to define an optical system, or series of...

matrix unit

An electrical or optical device used to convert color coordinates.

matrix-controlled display

A display that is formed in an X-Y manner; i.e., two inputs allow control of X2 elements.

MAU

media access unit — A media access unit (MAU) is a unique device utilized to connect token ring devices from multiple network stations into a star topology. There are two types of MAUs, passive and active. Passive MAUs are powered from their network connections while active MAUs are powered electrically from an external source.

maximum permissable exposure

The maximum level of laser radiation that a person may be exposed to without adverse biological effects.

megabit — The megabit (also expressed as Mbit) is equivalent to one million (or 106) of the standard unit for digital information storage in telecommunications which is the bit.

MBE

molecular beam epitaxy — A well-controlled thin film technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at very low deposition rates. MBE is also commonly used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and solar cells.

MCA

microchannel analyzer

mcd

millicandela — The millicandela is equivalent to one thousandth (or 10-3) of the standard unit of luminous intensity that is the candela, which is the power emitted by a given light source in a particular direction.

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