Photonics Dictionary

Any arrangement of a bundle of optical fibers that alters the shape of the image. For example, by systematic regulation of the spacing of the fibers from the entrance end to the exit end, a...

A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent on special prism shapes) and produces data that are uniquely sensitive to...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies beyond the visible spectrum. These components are crucial for various...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical systems due to the Kerr effect. The Kerr effect is the phenomenon where the...

1. The process of wearing down the surface of a softer material by rubbing it under pressure against the surface of a harder material that has been formed in the shape opposite to that desired on the...

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This technique is widely used in various scientific, industrial, and medical...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single package. These modules are designed to provide a convenient and efficient...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which lenses are eventually fabricated. Lens blanks are made from various...

The production of rough glass lens blanks that are pressed while red-hot to the approximate size and shape of the finished lens, ready for fine grinding and polishing. Large companies often do their...

An ophthalmic instrument used to measure the magnitude and direction of the maximum and minimum powers of a spectacle lens, and mark the optical center of the lens by an ink dot. When the lens to be...

Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape and...

Transparent matter that usually is drawn into a cylindrical, pyramidical or conical shape through which light is channeled from one end to the other by total internal reflections. Optical fibers are...

The spectroscopic analysis of optical line shapes and frequency shifts, using the technique of light beating; i.e., the mixing of two narrowband optical components to produce an AC component in the...

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are widely used in various applications due to their energy efficiency,...

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In a liquid crystal, the molecules are ordered like those in a...

Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a fine layer of hydrophobic powder, such as silica nanoparticles or Teflon....

A mirror composed of liquid, taking advantage of the parabolic shape of a spinning liquid and the fact that the mirror's focal length can be adjusted by altering the velocity at which the liquid's...

The pattern, formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are made up of wave shapes synthesized by a series of sine and cosine terms.

Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically computers, to interpret and understand visual information from the world,...

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...

A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its machining process or its practical use. In fiber optics, optical fibers are...

A wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane polarized light. A Martens wedge can also be used in combination with other...

A specific method for measuring the diameter of irregular shaped particles, Martin's diameter is the measured distance between opposite sides of a particle, and is measured transverse to the particle...

A filter that maximizes signal-to-noise ratio so that a waveform of known shape can be separated from random noise.

Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used for various medical applications. These lasers emit light in the form of...

Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...

A small optical polishing machine intended for polishing the surface of a metal specimen before etching for examination under a microscope. Although shaping and polishing machines for this purpose...

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped waveguide structure to selectively enhance or filter certain wavelengths of...

A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each individual lens in the array is referred to as a microlens. These...

The Mills Cross telescope is a two dimensional radio telescope in which the two antenna arrays are positioned perpendicular to each other to form the shape of a cross. Each antenna consists of...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly curved piece of glass or other substrate that serves as the starting point for...

A blank whose basic surface curves are attained by heating and forming a given weight of raw glass; a rough glass blank resembling the finished lens in size and shape. After molding, a precision lens...

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such as glass or plastic, into the desired lens shape. This process involves...

A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for applications including feature extraction and image segmentation in machine vision and...

A camera equipped with a lens and a long length of perforated film, the latter being moved intermittently between exposures by a pulldown claw or sprocket. A rotating shutter serves to cut off the...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a high-resolution, high-throughput process that involves the mechanical...

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a material and induces nonlinear responses. In contrast to linear optics, where...

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly in applications requiring precise focusing, collimation, or imaging of...

Optical artifacts refer to undesired or unintended effects that can occur in optical systems, such as microscopes, cameras, telescopes, and other optical instruments. These artifacts can distort or...

The amount by which an optical surface deviates from its ideal design value, expressed in wavelengths of light. Optical manufacturers use this value to determine two common characteristics of an...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through or be blocked in a manner analogous to an electronic gate controlling the...

Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...