Photonics Dictionary: L

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...

The visual perception of contrasting forms is more difficult if the forms have the same luminance but different chromaticities, than if the forms have the same chromaticity but different luminances.

The ability of the human eye to adjust itself to an alteration in the intensity of light.

A device that serves to emit light of the same wavelength as the input light, only with an increase in intensity. It may be a solid-state device comprising photoconductive and luminescent layers...

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a medium or material. Unlike direct transmission through a transparent...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to transmit data. Developed as an alternative or complementary technology to...

The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It includes information about the intensity and direction of light rays at...

Phenomenon caused by an ultrashort and ultra-intense light pulse propagating in a Kerr medium, such as air or water. When the pulse's power exceeds the critical power (approximately 3 GW in air),...

A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or modify the total or relative energy distribution of a beam of light.

A device that is designed to modulate a beam of light, usually from a laser source, by acting upon the beam directly. The three general types of devices operate in an acousto-optic, electro-optic or...

That property of a substance that determines that there will be a decrease in conductivity when exposed to light radiation.

The individual coherent series of lightwaves that defines a quantum of radiant energy. Light quantum is equal to hv, h being Plank constant and v being the radiation frequency in herts.

Technique for measuring the volume bulk of materials as they move along a conveyor with an accuracy of better than 1 percent. Based on the use of high-resolution arrays of solid-state detectors, the...

Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and fast biological processes in vivo. In this method, a light sheet illuminates...

The electrical power used to stimulate any light source. Power supplies may be step-up or step-down transformers; rectifiers to convert AC to DC; ammeters and voltmeters to observe the input to the...

With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active optical element, to convert an electrical charge image to an optical image....

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,...

The angle subtended by two points or lines that are just far enough apart to be distinguished as separate. The ability of an optical device to resolve two points or lines is called resolving power...

Celestial point sources that emit specific wavelengths of radiation that appear on spectral charts as narrow lines. The term linar is a contraction of line and star.

The line of vision; the optical axis of a telescope or other observation system. The straight line connecting the object and the objective lens of the viewing device.

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the entire image simultaneously. This technique is commonly used in various...

A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value, as opposed to a continuous spectrum. The actual width of the spectral line...

The intensity distribution seen when scanning the image of a line, in the direction perpendicular to that line.

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to capture images one line or row of pixels at a time, rather than a full...

A type of recording in which the recording line remains fixed and the recording medium is fed past the recording device.

A mappable surface feature arranged in straight or curved lines that is distinguished from surrounding surfaces and is formed as a result of the landform's internal characteristics.

A solid-state video detector consisting of a single row of light-sensitive semiconductor devices, used in linear-array cameras.

The transfer of energy lost by radiation to the body, relative to the loss of energy per unit of path traveled.

The measured width of the field of view at any distance.

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. Unlike area image sensors (such as CCD or CMOS sensors), which capture an...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of optical elements is proportional to the amplitude of the incident light wave....

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly polarized light signals in various applications, such as optical...

A relationship between two variables so that when plotted on a graph they yield a straight line.

Subsurface linear arrangement of elements of rock that is not mappable; lineation is a one-dimensional characteristic.

Linewidth, also known as spectral linewidth or line width, refers to a measure of the width of a frequency spectrum of a signal or a resonance. It indicates the range of frequencies over which the...

In data communications, the instrumentation connecting two stations: transmitters, receivers and the cable that runs between them.

A Michelson-type interference microscope used to produce interference patterns of reflective specimens through the interference between light reflected by the specimen and that reflected by a...

A small half-shade analyzer placed in the eyepiece of a polarimeter to determine the character of the polarized light emitted by the instrument. It consists of a Nicol prism situated so that it...

A self-healing, index-matching, nonporous coating for optical components that can eliminate production difficulties and deficiencies associated with solid-film contamination and postdeposition...

Multimode straight fiber capable of transporting linearly polarized light with any incident polarization angle, and in which no form of internal stress can develop that could lead to birefringence.

A laser that uses a substance in the liquid state, such as an organic dye, as the active lasing medium.

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....