Photonics Dictionary

The color of an object when it is illuminated by a nonisophotic source.

A characterization of the throughput performance of data storage systems; the EDR is the total of data retrieved divided by the total time it takes to retrieve it, expressed as megabytes per second.

The real numerical aperture (NA) of a fiber when the computed NA is not valid because of change in the glass indices during drawing and fusion.

A change in the refractive index of an optical fiber caused by variation in the length of the fiber core in response to mechanical stress.

The change in the refractive index of a material under the influence of an electrical field.

A method for detecting vibration amplitudes analogous to image holography, except that the film emulsion is replaced by a television target.

The occurrence of very large rotations in transparent materials at weak magnetic fields as predicted in the classical dispersion theory. This effect was discovered by Mavaluso and Corbino in 1898 in...

The ejection of electrons from the surface of a solid by the absorption of a sufficient amount of photons.

Wavelengths between 400 and 1400 nm (VIS to NIR) are focused onto the retina by the cornea. Because the retina is sensitive to light, these wavelengths can be damaging even at low energies. It is the...

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set parallel to one another by spacers so that lightwaves may bounce back and forth...

The Faraday effect, named after the English scientist Michael Faraday, is a phenomenon in physics where the polarization plane of light is rotated when the light passes through a transparent medium...

A photodetector employing photoregeneration of carriers in the channel region of an FET structure to provide photodetection with current gain.

A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the Twyman-Green, the Fizeau interferometer has fewer optical components, does...

Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength and emits it at another, to return to its ground state after being excited...

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of fluorescence emissions from fluorophores within a sample. Unlike traditional...

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced fluorescent molecules. This phenomenon is named after the German scientist...

The Foucault test is performed by moving a knife edge laterally into the image of a small point source. The eye, or a camera, is placed immediately behind the knife edge, and the exit pupil of the...

Observed lengthening in wavelengths of the optical absorption edge of a semiconductor with the application of an electric field.

A far-field pattern holographically reproduced image that is categorically considered with three-dimensional lensless photographs.

The dark absorption lines observed in the spectrum of the photosphere of the sun. There are thousands of these lines, the most prominent of which were observed and named by Fraunhofer early in the...

A crystal defect that is a combination of a vacancy and an interstitial created by the removal of an ion from a lattice and its placement in an interstitial position.

GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium Nitride materials and designed with a distributed feedback structure. These...

An interferometer similar in construction to a Fabry-Perot interferometer but having a rear mirror with high reflectivity, allowing light to escape only at the partially reflective front mirror.

Temporal jitter at a signal's receiver when amplified noise causes frequency shifts, as with a soliton traveling through an erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

The light flash that occurs when an electrical field is applied to a phosphor already excited by ultraviolet radiation.

The development of a transverse electric field in a solid material when it carries an electric current and is placed in a magnetic field that is perpendicular to the current.

The decrease in effect in developable density on a photographic plate formed by a second exposure to radiation having a longer wavelength, usually red or infrared.

The ionization and spark emission due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

The three-dimensional interference pattern of fringes that is recorded on a holographic plate to facilitate the study of a complex object.

The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to diverge into two directions, one of which directly strikes a holographic...

A mirage that consists of an image of an object appearing below its true position as the result of abnormal refraction by the atmosphere between the object and the viewer. It is the opposite of a...

An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector outputs. With an intensity interferometer, the primary collectors need not be...

1. The additive process whereby the amplitudes of two or more overlapping waves are systematically attenuated and reinforced. 2. The process whereby a given wave is split into two or more waves by,...

Color resulting from the interference between two light beams.

A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently, these filters are made up of thin layers of metals and dielectrics,...

A device, consisting of a diode activated by an interference pulse, that is designed to minimize the white spots on a television screen that are intensified by interference.

A special form of microscope that utilizes interference for observing and measuring the phase and optical thickness in completely transparent objects and specimen. The object is placed in one beam...

The spectrum produced by the interference of light provided that the source used to create the interference has a broad enough emittance to form a spectrum.

A photographic or electronic recording of an optical interference pattern.

The method by which interferograms are produced.

An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a length in terms of the length of a wave of light by using interference...

Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by measuring the change in optical pathlength through the material. By moving...

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy efficiency and ability to produce high-quality reflective color displays....

The study and utilization of interference phenomena, based on the wave properties of light.