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198 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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scanning electron microscope

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

scanning electron microscopy

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the surfaces of solid specimens. SEM achieves this by...

Schmidt camera

A camera that consists of a concave spherical mirror with an aspheric plate situated at the center of curvature of the mirror. The purpose of the plate is to correct the spherical aberration of the...

secondary spectrum -> secondary color

An aberration that remains after primary color is corrected. Primary color causes the back focus of a lens to vary with wavelength; for example, blue light comes to focus closer to the lens than...

serpentine bend mode filter

A device used in measuring attenuation in optical fiber. The loss caused by the bends in a short reference length of fiber approximates that of a much longer fiber under test.

short-focus lens -> wide-angle lens

A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to capture a broader field of view. Wide-angle lenses are characterized by their...

sine wave response -> modulation transfer function

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency...

slab laser

Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called total-internal-reflection face-pumped laser (TIR-FPL).

Snellen letter

The letter form used on visual performance test charts. The overall letter height is equal to five times the thickness of individual strokes. Normal 20/20 vision is represented by the ability to...

solar furnace

An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and concentration of solar radiation on that area. The system usually consists of a...

spectrograph

An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a prism or a diffraction grating. A concave grating requires no other means...

spectroheliograph

An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously scanning a photographic plate for analysis of the solar spectral lines. If...

spectrometer

A kind of spectrograph in which some form of detector, other than a photographic film, is used to measure the distribution of radiation in a particular wavelength region.

spherical aberration

Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface do not converge or diverge to a single focal point. Instead of focusing to a...

stereolithography

A method of creating real three-dimensional models by using lasers driven by CAD software. In contrast to the normal practice of removing material, this process polymerizes a liquid to quickly...

stereoscope

A small instrument containing a picture support and a pair of magnifying lenses so arranged that the left eye sees only the picture taken with the left lens of the stereo camera, and the right eye...

stereoscopic rangefinder

A rangefinder similar to a pair of binoculars with a long base, a dot or other wander mark provided in each eyepiece field, together forming an apparent point in space. When one dot is moved...

superior mirage

An image of an object that appears above the object's true position as the result of abnormal refraction of the image rays by the atmosphere.

surface-emitting laser diode

A semiconductor laser diode that emits light perpendicular to the active region. The output radiation is taken through the surface as opposed to through a cleaved mirror.

t number

The equivalent f number of a fictitious lens that has a circular opening and 100 percent transmittance, which would give the same central illumination as the lens being considered: where...

T stop -> t number

The equivalent f number of a fictitious lens that has a circular opening and 100 percent transmittance, which would give the same central illumination as the lens being considered: where...

telecentric lens

There are three types of telecentric lenses: -Image-space telecentric lenses are those in which the aperture stop is located at the front focus, resulting in the chief rays being parallel to the...

TEM₀₀ -> transverse mode

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the cross-section of a laser beam. These modes represent the different...

terahertz

Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1 and 10 terahertz. One terahertz is equivalent to one trillion hertz, or...

test chart -> resolution target

A chart on paper or glass containing a series of sets of lines at progressively smaller spacing and used to ascertain the limiting number of lines per millimeter that an optical system is capable of...

Ti:sapphire laser

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...

transverse electric mode -> transverse mode

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the cross-section of a laser beam. These modes represent the different...

transverse electromagnetic mode -> transverse mode

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the cross-section of a laser beam. These modes represent the different...

transverse mode

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the cross-section of a laser beam. These modes represent the different...

trichromacy

The basis of color vision in the human eye. Three types of cones have been identified, each having a unique spectral response (red, green and blue).

triclinic

With respect to a crystal, having three unequal axes intersecting at angles, only two of which can be equal and only one of which can measure 90°.

tristimulus colorimeter -> colorimeter

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

uhlbricht sphere -> integrating sphere

A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and detector used for measuring the diffuse reflectance or transmittance of...

Ultraviolet-C

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible light. UV-C radiation spans the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths...

ultraviolet fiber optics

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet light, which is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than...

ultraviolet reflectance

Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than those of visible light,...

umbra -> penumbra

A source of light will not cast a distinct shadow of an interfering, opaque object, but will cast a shadow having two parts: 1. the umbra, or the central, totally dark part of the shadow; and 2. the...

vacuum ultraviolet radiation

Radiation whose spectrum runs between 100 and 300 nm. Any work with these wavelengths requires evacuated equipment.

vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy

A method of spectral analysis using wavelengths between 100 and 300 nm that utilizes both emission and absorption techniques.

variable-focus condenser

An Abbe condenser in which the upper lens element is fixed. The lower lens may focus the illumination between the elements so that it emerges from the fixed lens as a large-diameter parallel bundle....

vertical-cavity laser diode

A type of surface-emitting laser diode that uses dielectric mirrors to produce surface emission. The laser cavity is established in a vertical direction with respect to the plane of the active region.

vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser -> vertical-cavity laser diode

vidicon

A small television tube originally developed for closed-circuit television. It is about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches long. Its controls are relatively simple and can be operated by unskilled...

vignetting

In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations of the clear apertures of elements within the system.

white-light interferometer -> optical profiler

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to millimeter-scale step heights. A standard arrangement includes an illumination source,...

wide-angle lens

Wollaston prism

A polarizing prism consisting of two calcite prisms cemented such that they deviate the two emerging beams (which are mutually perpendicularly polarized) by nearly equal amounts in opposite...

x-ray image spectrography

Irradiation of a cylindrical crystal with an x-ray beam resulting in Bragg diffraction that produces a slightly enlarged image.

Photonics Dictionary