Photonics Dictionary

A type of high-speed cine camera that uses different image paths and a Kerr cell to produce a series of successive images at about 60,000,000 fps.

A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is mounted to rotate about a vertical axis. A slit opening in the film plane and the...

An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by the equation: where represents the wave number in the reciprocal centimeters,...

A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses the Peltier effect to transfer heat between two electrical junctions. It can...

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely used in various applications where high sensitivity, fast response times,...

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...

In image processing and elsewhere, generally an adjective to describe an assembly-line arrangement for performing a task. For example, an image is put through one kind of processing step and then...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through a series of temperature-controlled cycles....

Power modulation refers to the intentional variation of power levels in a signal, often in the context of electronic communication systems. This modulation technique is used to encode information...

System of information coding in which the signal is sampled 8000 times per second and the samples quantized by referring them to a series of preset 8-bit codes. Thus digitized, the signal is sent to...

A series of capacitors and inductors connected to the flashlamp in a pumped Nd:YAG laser system in order to regulate the pulse shape of the current delivered to the lamp at a given operating voltage.

A laser that emits energy in a series of short bursts or pulses and that remains inactive between each burst or pulse. The frequency of the pulses is termed the pulse-repetition frequency.

A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics. It is a versatile and powerful device used for emitting coherent light in...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally introduced into the crystal lattice of a material to modify its properties....

A display in which regeneration takes place serially at a fixed speed in a set pattern through the scan lines.

Raster scanning is a technique used in imaging and scanning systems to systematically capture and process information from a two-dimensional area or surface. It involves moving a sensor or scanning...

A reflection grating is an optical component that consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel reflecting surfaces or grooves. These grooves are typically ruled or etched onto a flat substrate or...

A closely spaced series of well-known chemicals having a refractive index lying between 1.33 for water and 1.95 for a solution of phosphorus in carbon disulfide. They are used to identify powdered...

A chart on paper or glass containing a series of sets of lines at progressively smaller spacing and used to ascertain the limiting number of lines per millimeter that an optical system is capable of...

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.

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...

With a repetitive object such as a series of equispaced lines, the reciprocal of the line spacing in object or image, generally expressed in cycles per millimeter.

A technique for obtaining improved resolution of images produced by large telescopes and distorted by the effects of atmospheric turbulence. Many individual exposures are recorded at high speeds by a...

A classification of particular regularities that occur in the spectra of many atoms.

In rudimentary form, this technology consists of diffusion of a PN junction through a mask of silica, over which a contact is applied.

In a microscope, the optical assembly that focuses light on the specimen and into the objective.

Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the building by a series of mirrors and lenses. Ideally, cool lighting is obtained by...

The standards of MIL-O-13830 set by the US government relative to tolerable surface scratches and other such defects in an optical system. A series of standard glass plates that have been...

The series of interference bands that appear in the spectrum when a specified glass plate is inserted into a spectroscope, from the side of the blue portion of the spectrum, so that the plate...

A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative temperature between the hotter and colder junctions. Banks of thermocouples...

A cine camera that exposes a series of individual frames to record the changes in a subject that slowly alters with time. This results in the eventual showing of an event that happened over an...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT scans over time, allowing for the dynamic observation and monitoring of...

The Fourier series representation of a two-dimensional periodic field, assuming that the original image is periodic both horizontally and vertically.

A series of high contrast block letters or similar objects arranged to permit the evaluation of eyesight in humans.

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...

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...