Photonics Dictionary

Computer output in the form of pictorial representation (graphs, charts, drawings, etc.) that is displayed visually.

A snapshot representation of the final image created by a computer program.

The physical area containing an assembly of computer graphics equipment for presenting generated images and allowing interaction between the user and the computer.

A technique used to store wavefront information on thin polarization information-recordable materials by controlling the polarization angle of a small illuminating spotlight in each sampling cell on...

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

A phase reflection scanner that eliminates the need for a complex translation device while maintaining a high-energy-density level during laser materials processing. These devices direct and focus...

The generation of a grating on a concave spherical blank by the holographic process. In this way, ghost images and intense stray light are avoided.

Also known as real holographic image. The indistinct, highly distorted image produced on the side of the hologram closest to the observer, in addition to the primary image. When the location of the...

A fluorographic method whereby the sensitive photographic medium is pressed against a fluorescent screen to form a visible image.

The radiography of small objects having detail too fine to be seen by the unaided eye. The resulting negative, when optically enlarged, can be examined.

The generation, usually by a cathode-ray oscilloscope, of a two-dimensional image having a three-dimensional appearance.

An instrument used to measure the coordinates of a point on an object such as a photographic plate.

A telescope in which a mask occults the solar disk, generating an artificial eclipse and allowing observation and recording of the sun's corona.

The spectrographic analysis of matter that is in a cooled state. Generally, a mechanical refrigerator is used to lower the temperature of the sample, allowing isolation and study of the sample and...

A system that applies a crystal as a diffracting agent to photograph the spectrum.

The photographic record of the diffraction pattern formed when x-rays pass through a crystal.

The analysis of the atomic structures within crystals by means of x-ray diffraction.

In computer graphics, intersection of a plane with a three-dimensional object to create a sectional view.

A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape resembling a cylinder. Unlike spherical lenses, which have the same...

A photomicrographic recording technique that utilizes dark-field illumination to render an image of an object having a refractive index much like that of the medium holding it. The object may be...

Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the UV-A and UV-B regions. The exact wavelength range considered as DUV can...

A chart, either printed on paper or prepared photographically on glass plates or film, that consists of 3-bar resolution test objects, sine-wave test objects for modulation transfer function...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on a medium, such as a photographic film. 2. A device used to measure the...

The detection and analysis of the transmission and reflection properties of objects and photographic images.

1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of the radiation. The device may function by electrical, photographic or...

A chemical solution that changes the silver salts (latent image) of exposed photographic film into black metallic silver (visual image).

A type of photographic film, often used in microfilming, that is processed by heat treatment, needing no liquid application.

A spectrograph that uses a diffraction grating as its dispersive element in place of a prism, and yields greater resolving power, more dispersion and a linear spectrum.

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates, holographic lenses, kinoform lenses and binary optics.

Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings, surface-relief diffractive lenses, holographic optical elements and...

An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is used to create a more even or uniform illumination, reduce glare, or soften...

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 holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images of objects. This method...

The scanning of photographs or transparencies of images, either by a vidicon camera or flying spot scanner, for the conversion of the images to digital form for storage on magnetic tape.

A form of photography in which an electronic camera converts an image to an electronic signal that is stored in digital format on magnetic media or film.

A pixel-based computer graphics system that simulates the tools of an artist.

Medical diagnostic (x-ray) imaging using laser printers to produce high-resolution digital hard copy instead of film exposed by phosphor-intensifying screens, thus providing radiologists with greater...

The observable illustration of an image, scene or data on a screen such as a console or cathode-ray tube, seen as a graph, report or drawing.

A general-purpose lens, also known as the Celor lens, used widely in photography and commercial processing; it has the form of a triplet with a split flint element.

The formation of an interferogram by means of two holograms on the same recording medium, often used for determining small changes in an object. One hologram produces a primary image that constitutes...

A fast, wide-angle lens used in television and photographic cameras, with excellent overall correction, but subject to residual oblique spherical aberration.

Interferometric measurement of the interference pattern recorded when a complex object is illuminated by two laser pulses that interfere and form the pattern to be evaluated.

Holographic recording whereby the object is illuminated by two pulses, separated by a time interval, from a Q-switched laser source. Each pulse is divided into reference and object beams, and...