Photonics Dictionary

A microscope that has an annular stop in the lower focal plane of the condenser, and a quarter-wave retarding and absorbing ring in the upper focal plane of the objective that just fills the image of...

A device used to count objects that pass a given point by allowing each object to obstruct a beam of light falling on a photocell. Slow counting rates can be recorded by a mechanical counter, but...

A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric microstructures, such as microspheres or microcylinders. This phenomenon arises due...

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic...

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical phase information of transparent specimens. Unlike traditional brightfield...

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,...

Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the physical structure of the material. In structural color, the interaction of...

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...

Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its propagation. To exploit the wave phenomena of light, one must interact light...

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...