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Photonics Dictionary: B

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Becke line
A band of light that appears along the outer edge of a transparent material under microscopic investigation and that moves toward higher refractive indices as the microscope's focus is raised, and...
Beer's law
Transmittance of a stable solution is an exponential function of the concentration of the absorbing solute.
bellows
In optics, a collapsible structure situated between the lens and film of a camera to allow variation of the distance between them while preventing surrounding light from exposing the film.
bench -> optical bench
A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...
bench photometer
A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the produced flux densities are equal. The luminous intensities of the two...
bend loss
The loss of optical power in an optical fiber because radiation escapes through its bends. The radiation loss caused by fiber bending is proportional to the bend radius.
BERT
basic energy reduction technology; bit-error-rate test
beryllium oxide
A dielectric ceramic material used in laser capillary tubes because of its high electrical resistivity and high thermal conductivity (half that of copper).
Bessel functions
Two formulas used in diffractometer analysis, the first giving the individual diffraction patterns of each aperture, the second representing the constant of the degree of an incoherent circular...
beta site
A facility selected by mutual agreement of the user and the prospective vendor to test a prototype before it is offered for sale.
beta-ray spectrometer
An instrument for the detection of the energy distribution of b-particles and secondary electrons.
betatron
An instrument designed to produce very hard x-rays by the acceleration of electrons in a varying magnetic field.
BFD
back focal distance
BFS
best fit sphere
bi-quartz
A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other levorotary, over the analyzer of a polariscope. In this way, polarization tints may...
bias
1. To influence to a single direction. 2. Voltage that is applied to a solid-state device.
bias buildup
Degradation factor in coherent light systems where the amplitude of the recorded signal is decreased as the number of object points is increased, resulting in poor noise performance.
biconic connector
A type of fiber optic connector consisting of two cone-shaped ferrules aligned by a mating sleeve.
BIDS
broadband integrated distributed star
BIE
British Institute of Engineers
BIEE
British Institute of Electrical Engineers
bilinear interpolation
It is often necessary to estimate the value of what a pixel would be between neighboring pixels. This is accomplished by interpolating (or inserting) the value of a pixel between neighboring pixels....
Billet's split lens
An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the halves are separated. This produces a double image of a slit source set...
bimorph
A type of piezoelectric translator that uses two thin strips of piezoelectric material, one expanding while the other contracts, to produce movement.
binary image
A digitized image consisting of just two brightness levels, as black and white, represented in memory as zeros and ones.
binary on-off
Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....
binocular
Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to facilitate observation. See also prism binoculars.
binocular collimation
The adjustment of a binocular instrument so that the lines of sight of both telescopes are parallel.
binocular magnifier
A device having a pair of decentered lenses, one for each eye, that focuses on a single object as a magnifier. It is often supplied with a forehead fixture or an elastic headband to leave the hands...
binocular microscope
A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.
biocular
A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The term may be distinguished from binocular in that biocular instruments contain...
bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon in which living organisms produce and emit light through a chemical reaction occurring within their bodies. This light emission is typically the result of a...
biomarker
A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition, process, or response. Biomarkers can be substances or characteristics that are...
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...
bionics
The application of observed operational processes of sophisticated living organisms to mechanical and electrical systems in order to analogize capabilities or efficiency.
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...
biplanar image tube
Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate intensification stage. This is an in-line device that does not invert the image.
biplanar lens
Electron lens consisting of an homogeneous axial electric field.
bipolar
Refers to transistors in which the working current flows through two types of semiconductor material: N- and P-type. In bipolar transistors, the working current consists of both positive and negative...
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...
birefringent filter
A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of alternating layers of polarizing films and plates cut from birefringent crystal.
bispheric condenser -> dark-field condenser
A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used with an objective having a numerical aperture lower than the minimum...
bit
A contraction of binary digit; the fundamental unit of digital computing, a bit is either 1 or 0, expressing the binary state of on or off, true or false, etc.
bit error rate
The ratio of the number of bits received incorrectly to the total number of bits transmitted digitally in a system.
BITE
built-in test equipment
Bjerrum screen
In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of black velvet with a white spot center at which the patient, 1 m away,...
black hole
A cosmic phenomenon in which the mass and density of a star pass a critical point so that the escape velocity matches the speed of light. For this reason, light and matter are "captured'' by the...
black surface enclosure
An enclosure whose walls are coated to absorb completely all radiation striking them.
blackbody
An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all wavelengths. The radiation emitted by such a body when heated is referred to as...

Photonics DictionaryB


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