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Photonics Dictionary

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conjugate points

The two points on the principal axis of a mirror or lens so positioned that light emitted from either point will be focused at the other, i.e., object and image points.

conjugate ratio

The ratio between the object distance and the image distance measured along the principal axis of a lens or mirror. An object at the focal point of a lens has an infinite conjugate ratio; an object...

convex

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly extending appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a convex shape is...

coudé

A set of mirrors along a telescope's polar axis designed to redirect light to a fixed position without being affected by the motion or position of the telescope. From the French word for "elbow."

crystal laser -> solid-state laser

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...

curvature

The measure of departure from a flat surface, as applied to lenses; the reciprocal of radius. Applies to any surface, including lenses, mirrors and image surfaces.

custom optic

A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or...

Czerny-Turner design

A form of monochromator optical system consisting of two spherical concave mirrors used in conjunction with a movable diffraction grating.

Dall-Kirkham telescope

A telescope similar to the customary Cassegrain telescope, but having a primary mirror that is ellipsoidal and a secondary that is spherical.

diamond turning

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

diamond-turned optic

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

digital camera

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

digital twin

A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This digital replica is created using real-time data and simulation models, allowing...

diode laser -> 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...

diode laser

diode-pumped solid-state laser

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...

direct illumination

Light produced by visible radiation that moves from the light source to the object without reflection. With respect to microscopy, this is the light that directly strikes the stage of the microscope...

DMP

digital map processor; digital micromirror device

double-pass transmittance hologram

A hologram having an object wave that has been transmitted through the transparent object media to a mirror, reflected again and recorded on a medium.

dual laser

A gas laser equipped with Brewster windows and concave mirrors (having unlike reflective properties) at each end of the tube to produce two separate wavelengths at the same time.

electrocapillarity modulator

A type of optical modulator with potential application in optical switching and displays, in which applied voltage causes a change of interfacial tension between mercury and an electrolyte, varying...

electron cyclotron maser

A maser that relies on the fact that electrons in orbital motion in high-magnetic fields will emit energy at the cyclotron frequency. The transfer of energy is from the bunching of the electrons by...

enantiomer

Enantiomers are a pair of molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, similar to left and right hands. They are stereoisomers, meaning they have the same molecular formula and...

endoscope

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

entrance slit

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and monochromators. It is a narrow opening or aperture through which light...

evaporagraph

A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An infrared image is formed on the membrane by a lens or mirror and produces...

extreme ultraviolet

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

f-Theta lens

An f-theta lens, also known as an f-theta scan lens or simply an f-theta lens system, is a specialized optical component used in laser scanning systems, particularly in laser marking, engraving, and...

Fabry-Perot interferometer

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...

Fabry-Perot laser

A laser oscillator in which two mirrors are separated by an amplifying medium with an inverted population, making a Fabry-Perot cavity. Standard diode lasers are Fabry-Perot lasers.

face-pumped laser

A device in which slab geometry internally compensates for thermal-optic distortion; the solid host material -- glass or Nd:YAG -- is in the form of a rectangular slab with plane parallel faces. The...

facet

1. One of the plane-reflecting surfaces on a multisurfaced polygon. 2. The cleaved end mirror of a laser diode's active region.

fata morgana

A type of mirage that creates a distorted vertical image of relatively flat objects so that they appear as mountains, cliffs, columns or castles. The nonexistent mountainous region in the Arctic...

fiber laser

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

film thickness gauge

An interferometer spectrometer designed to measure thicknesses of thin films or layers by recording the interferogram and by having a computer within the instrument to establish the distance between...

Fizeau fringes

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau interferometer is named after the French physicist Armand Fizeau, who...

Fizeau toothed wheel

A device used to measure the speed of light by adjusting the rotation of a toothed wheel so that light passing through one tooth opening is reflected through the next. This device has since been...

fluorographic camera

A camera with a very high aperture lens or mirror system for photographing x-ray fluorescent screen images, mainly to save the cost of large pieces of 11 x 14-in. film. The film may be 4 x 5-in. cut...

focal plane

A plane (through the focal point) at right angles to the principal axis of a lens or mirror; that surface on which the best image is formed.

Fourier transform spectrometer

An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of the detector signal to provide the desired spectrum.

FSM

fast steering mirror

FTIR spectrometer

FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid, or gas sample. It operates based...

gallium arsenide injection laser

A laser system consisting of a planar PN junction within a single crystal of gallium arsenide. The pair of parallel, semireflective end faces produces a Fabry-Perot resonant cavity, whereas the other...

galvanometric scanner

A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to rapidly and precisely direct a laser beam or other light source to...

geodimeter

Trade name referring to an instrument that determines surface distances by measuring the length of time it takes for a modulated lightwave to reach a mirror and be reflected to its point of origin.

Geometrical optics

The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's Principle. Geometrical optics is useful as long as the objects in which the light...

Gires-Tournois interferometer

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.

glass

A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or phosphoric oxides. Common window or bottle glass is a mixture of soda,...

glass-ceramic

A type of glass used in telescope mirrors, formed by adding a nucleating agent to standard glass and then heating it until it crystallizes.

Golay cell

A thermal radiation detector consisting of a small cell with a blackened plastic front face that bulges slightly when heat is received by it. The bulging tilts a small mirror, which, in turn, varies...

Photonics Dictionary