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guided mode

In an optical waveguide, a mode whose field decays monotonically in the transverse direction everywhere external to the core and which does not lose power to radiation. Also called bound mode.

harmonic generation

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons....

helium-neon laser

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates based on the principle of stimulated emission of photons from excited helium...

high harmonic generation

High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous medium, typically an atom or a molecule, to produce harmonics of the...

hollow waveguide

An infrared-transmitting optical fiber with a hollow core; it can be square, round or rectangular in cross section. Capable of carrying high laser power but subject to high bending losses.

III-V material

In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from group III and group V of the periodic table. More specifically, these...

image brightness

The apparent luminance of the image as seen through an optical system. This brightness of the image is determined by the brightness of the object, as well as the transmittance and etendue - or light...

image quality

A measure of the closeness with which an optical image is capable of resembling the original object. The factors that affect image quality are lens aberrations, diffraction, dirt and stray light...

infrared signal generator

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It contains an internal modulator to amplitude-modulate the output signal, an...

insertion loss

The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a fiber optic system. See attenuation.

isolator

In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one direction while attenuating or blocking signals in the opposite direction. The...

Kundt effect -> Faraday rotation

The effect discovered by Faraday in 1845 whereby nonoptically active materials or substances become capable of rotating the polarization plane of polarized radiation (light) passed through them when...

laser active elements

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the amplification of light through the process of stimulated emission. These...

laser crystal

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of lasers. The primary function of the laser crystal is to amplify light by...

laser damage threshold

The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing damage. It is a critical parameter in laser applications and is...

laser diode -> diode laser

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

laser diode module

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

laser drift

Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over time. In the context of lasers, stability in terms of frequency or wavelength...

laser optics

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

laser pointer

Handheld optical laser device containing a semiconductor or DPSS source. The output is corrected via internal collimating optics. For typical use the output is reduced to eyesafe operation power. (5...

lateral offset loss

A power loss caused by transverse or lateral deviation from optimum alignment of source to optical waveguide, waveguide to waveguide, or waveguide to detector.

launch numerical aperture

The numerical aperture of an optical system used to couple (launch) power into an optical waveguide.

lens testing equipment

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance, quality, and characteristics of lenses. These instruments are essential for...

lensometer

An ophthalmic instrument used to measure the magnitude and direction of the maximum and minimum powers of a spectacle lens, and mark the optical center of the lens by an ink dot. When the lens to be...

light throughput efficiency

The fraction of incident light power in an optical modulator that is available to the output beam.

limiting angle of resolution

The angle subtended by two points or lines that are just far enough apart to be distinguished as separate. The ability of an optical device to resolve two points or lines is called resolving power...

liquid crystal light valve

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the intensity, phase, or polarization of light passing through it using liquid...

longitudinal offset loss -> gap loss

The optical power loss caused by a space between axially aligned fibers.

loss budget

The total optical power loss in a system. The loss budget is often stated in terms of the transmitted power and the power required at the receiver to express the maximum acceptable amount of loss.

machine vision system

A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...

magnifying power

The ability of an optical system to make an object appear larger. An optical element or optical system causing an object to appear twice as high and twice as wide is said to have a magnification of...

mandrel

A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its machining process or its practical use. In fiber optics, optical fibers are...

MEMS fiber optic switch

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...

microbending loss

Transmission loss in optical fibers caused by packaging processes; it is considered a power-coupling effect from the guided modes to the radiation modes.

microcomb

A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly spaced optical frequencies, akin to the teeth of a comb, across a broad...

microdisplay

A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small screen. Unlike traditional displays, microdisplays are typically very compact...

microresonator frequency comb -> microcomb

A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly spaced optical frequencies, akin to the teeth of a comb, across a broad...

millidiopter

A unit of metric measure equivalent to 1 thousandth (or 10-3 ) of the standard unit of optical power which is the diopter (1 millidiopter is 0.001 D). The power of a lens in millidiopters is the...

misalignment loss -> angular misalignment

Angular deviation from the optimum alignment of source to optical waveguide, waveguide to waveguide, or waveguide to detector, resulting in a loss of optical power.

modal noise

In an optical system, noise created by mode-dependent optical losses and variations in the distribution of radiant power among the modes or relative phases of the modes. Also known as speckle noise.

mode coupling

In an optical waveguide, the exchange of power/energy among modes.

mode hopping

Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal mode to another. In a laser, different longitudinal modes represent distinct...

multimeter -> optical multimeter

An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement input.

multiple wavelength interferometry

A specific form of phase shifting interferometry - commonly referred to as multiple wavelength phase shifting interferometry - this form of interferometry utilizes two short wavelengths to synthesize...

Murty interferometer

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...

Nd:YAG laser

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. This type of laser emits light at a wavelength of 1064 nm in the...

nonlinear optical materials

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the intensity of incident light. In other words, these materials produce optical...

optical channel monitor

An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of individual channels within a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)...

optical computer -> photonic computer

A type of computer in which the electronic circuits, which process data serially, are replaced by photonic circuits capable of parallel processing and thus of much greater speed and power. Where the...

optical data storage

The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive surface as pits or phase differences and to read such data via reflected light...

Photonics DictionaryDefinitions