Photonics Dictionary

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

Any structure having the ability to guide the flow of radiant energy along a path parallel to its axis and to contain the energy within or adjacent to its surface.

A configuration or device mounted at the end of a fiber or cable that is intended to prevent reflection.

For a particular mode in a waveguide, the ratio of the angular frequency to constant phase.

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic...

A photonic engine refers to a device or system that utilizes photonics, or the science and technology of generating, controlling, and detecting photons (particles of light), to perform various...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and functions on a single chip, similar to the way electronic integrated circuits...

Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical vibrations or vice versa. The piezoelectric effect is a property exhibited by...

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...

An optical waveguide having a silica core and a plastic cladding.

A glass structure from which an optical fiber waveguide may be drawn.

In a waveguide, the material in intimate contact with the cladding surface, applied to preserve the integrity of that surface.

An instrument that measures the angle at which a prism can couple laser light into an optical waveguide; used to determine the thickness and refractive index of thin films in integrated optical...

In an optical waveguide, that dispersion attributable to the variation of refractive index profile with wavelength. The profile variation has two contributing factors: variation in refractive index...

A mode in an optical waveguide whose fields are transversely oscillatory everywhere external to the waveguide. It exists even in the limit of zero wavelength.

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by channeling microwave energy into waveguide cavity assemblies.

A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) is a key component in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optical communication networks. It allows for flexible and dynamic routing of...

A light ray that has had its direction altered because of its traversing an air-to-glass interface at some angle. In an optical waveguide, a ray that is refracted from the core into the cladding.

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their source, regardless of the direction from which the light approaches. Unlike...

Sapphire crystal refers to a transparent, single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) known as corundum. It is one of the hardest known materials, second only to diamond on the Mohs scale of...

A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly prized for its exceptional optical...

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications due to its exceptional optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Sapphire...

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, x-rays, or charged particles. The emitted...

A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for testing and research purposes. Solar simulators are employed in various...

Any isolated wave that propagates without dispersion of energy. Specifically to photonics, an ultrashort pulse of laser light that propagates through a waveguide without characteristic chromatic...

A permanent joint whose purpose is to couple optical power among two or more ports. Also, a device whose purpose is to couple optical power between a waveguide and a source or detector.

A passive coupler that distributes signals from one or several inputs among a larger number of output waveguides arranged schematically as a star configuration.

A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The field components of the wave may exist (in principle) throughout space, even to...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or positrons, in a closed, circular or elliptical path. The name synchrotron...

A waveguide having a characteristic that is altered continuously with the distance traveled, relative to the axis of its path.

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz frequency range, typically spanning from about 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz),...

A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The name Ti:sapphire comes from the combination of titanium (Ti) as the dopant...

An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) or picoseconds (10-12 seconds). These...

For each mode in an optical waveguide, the term used to describe the process by which an electromagnetic signal is distorted by virtue of the dependence of the phase and group velocities on...

Gas laser in which the tube acts as a channel for the laser beam.