Photonics Dictionary: S

A phosphor that has the ability to convert into light emission a portion of energy lost by ionization when a charged particle passes through the material.

The method of determining the energy distribution of high-speed charged particles by the luminous effect formed when the particles strike a material.

An instrument used to test the hardness of various materials. It measures the pressure on a standard point that is necessary to scratch the material.

A device used to take turbidimetric or nephelometric measurements by considering the contrast between a constant brightness field and an illuminated line positioned behind the solution being tested.

The cutting of pitch tooling surfaces by an optical technician to permit polishing compounds to flow across the surface of the tool.

Vision by means of retinal rods; vision of the dark-adapted eye. In scotopic vision, the level of luminance is so low that the retinal cones are not stimulated, and there is no color vision.

An instrument that uses an image intensifier to aid in the viewing of subjects in low-light-level environments.

A defect on a polished optical surface whose length is many times its width. Block reek is a chainlike scratch formed in polishing. A runner cut is a curved scratch caused by grinding. A sleek is a...

Thin layers intended to prevent damage to plastic optics.

The large, usually flat surface onto which an image is projected for viewing. May be reflecting or transmitting (rear projection).

The process of perforating a silicon or ceramic substrate with a series of tiny holes along which it will break. Nd:YAG or CO2 lasers are now routinely used.

1. A polariscope consisting of a Savart plate and a tourmaline plate analyzer, and used to produce parallel color fringes by transmitting polarized light. 2. A polariscope composed of an analyzing...

A nonlinear label-free imaging technique commonly used during surgical procedures for the visualization of collagen fibers and muscle tissue (myosin) with submillimeter resolution. During the...

The process of grinding the convex surface of a convexo-concave meniscus.

Fluorescence produced by a material that has been treated with a dilute solution of fluorescing material.

A disc, having opaque and transparent sectors or sectors with unlike reflectances, that is rotated at a specific rate to form a continuous response to the average energy transmitted or reflected by...

A projection screen having vertical ribs or flutes set into a plastic surface.

The optical energy transfer between ions of differing atoms.

Raster scanning process like that of television: each line is scanned successively.

A variation of tomography, which is a means of visualizing any one of a large set of parallel planes in the patient. A series of x-ray pictures taken from different angles results in developed...

An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are proportional to the intensity of the solar radiation incident upon it. Using the...

Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the diffraction limit of traditional optical microscopes, allowing for the...

An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation. Single-molecule spectroscopy (SMS) can image at subwavelength scales, down to a...

A technique for observing the decay of light emissions from sources following their pulsed excitations, based on recording the arrival time of the first photoelectron after excitation. After many...

A television system that uses a slow rate of horizontal scanning to increase its reproduction and transmittance accuracy of printed matter, photographs and illustrations.

The investigation of microstructures by an instrument that generates a narrow, highly collimated beam of x-rays.

A transmission interference microscope that produces interference patterns of a sample by using birefringent plates that split a polarized beam of light into ordinary and extraordinary rays, then...

A high-power riflescope specifically intended for sighting and shooting distant targets.

An instrument used for viewing in low levels of illumination by means of infrared radiation. A high-aperture lens forms an image of distant objects on the photocathode of an infrared-sensitive image...

The luminescence of a substance resulting from its exposure to ultrasonic waves.

Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative phase imaging methods. It is designed to provide high-resolution,...

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating measurements at different spatial offsets. This method allows for the selective...

An instrument similar to the spectroheliograph, but having a scanning method that is performed by a pair of rapidly oscillating slits or a rotating glass block located before a pair of fixed slits at...

In a general sense, any one of a class of instruments used to disperse radiation, visible or invisible, into its component wavelengths and for determining or measuring the resultant spectrum. In a...

Two stars so close together that they cannot be resolved by telescopes. They are proved to be double stars by the doubling of their spectral lines.

The light flash, produced in flash photolysis, that is triggered within a second discharge tube by the third electrode. It is to be differentiated from the photolysis flash which is triggered within...

A discharge tube filled with various gases and used as a source in spectroscopy.

Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves measuring and analyzing how different materials absorb, emit, or scatter light,...

A device through which scintillations are observed or counted through a magnifying lens system.

A scanning process in which the greatest amount of radiation determines part of a spiral motion rotating in one direction.

A mask-alignment microscope used to produce and inspect microcircuits in the electronics industry. It provides flat-field, distortion-free images at all magnifications with a high-intensity vertical...