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294 terms

Photonics Dictionary: C

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confocal spherical interferometer

An interferometer formed by two similar concave spherical mirrors arranged with the center of one sphere on the other mirror. In this instrument the field is more concentrated by the axis of the...

conical scan sensor

A device used to determine the location and attitude with respect to the Earth of orbiting spacecraft by detecting the difference in thermal radiance between the Earth's horizon and space.

conjugate autofocus system

A system that determines whether an image is in or out of focus by means of a source of illumination at the conjugate focal point, which reflects off the target; the return beam is mediated by masks...

conjugate focus -> conjugate points

The two points on the principal axis of a mirror or lens so positioned that light emitted from either point will be focused at the other, i.e., object and image points.

conjugate points

The two points on the principal axis of a mirror or lens so positioned that light emitted from either point will be focused at the other, i.e., object and image points.

conjugate ratio

The ratio between the object distance and the image distance measured along the principal axis of a lens or mirror. An object at the focal point of a lens has an infinite conjugate ratio; an object...

conjugator -> phase conjugation

The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols, semiconductor crystals and plasmas, to replicate a laser beam by reversing...

connector

Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a device that can be connected and disconnected repeatedly.

connector loss

Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems. The major contributors are mutual core displacement and fiber axis tilt. It is observed in both permanent splices and...

conoscope

An optical instrument, generally a polarizing microscope, that is used to determine the interference figures and optical axis of a sample crystal. Also called a hodoscope.

constant luminance encoder

A device used in broadcast CCD cameras to improve definition in heavily saturated colors by band-limiting the color difference signals after gamma correction.

contact fluid

A liquid, usually of a specific refractive index and dispersion, serving as an interface between two solids to form a complete light transmission system.

contact laser surgery

Laser surgery by means of a low-power laser system using a synthetic sapphire scalpel that transmits the laser light while in direct contact with the tissue.

contact microradiography

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.

continuous dynode electron multiplier -> channel electron multiplier

A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along the tube causes photoemission from the photocathode at the end of the tube...

continuous spectrum

The radiation spectrum of matter found in condensed states, liquid or solid, that is continuous and not a line spectrum. The details of this spectrum are almost independent of the matter emitting the...

continuous wave

Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In various contexts, the term is used to describe continuous, uninterrupted...

continuous-wave laser

A laser that emits radiation continuously rather than in short bursts, as in a pulsed laser.

contour projection chart

A large-scale, precise drawing of the contours of a perfect mechanical part, often with plus and minus tolerances drawn or indicated. For quality control decisions, enlarged images of mechanically...

contouring

Selection of specific brightness values or minimum threshold levels as contingencies for the display of digital data.

contrast

The apparent difference in brightness between light and dark areas of an image. For a light target against a dark background, contrast is computed as follows: where Lt is the luminance of the...

contrast improvement

One area of image enhancement, accomplished by spatial filtering schemes, that usually involves attenuation of phase changes in the complex amplitude over a limited region of the Fourier spectrum of...

contrast transfer function -> 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...

convergent beam sensing mode

A type of photoelectric proximity mode sensing incorporating a lens system to focus the light from the emitter in a small, concentrated spot at a specific point in front of the sensor. Also referred...

convex

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly extending appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a convex shape is...

coordinate measuring microscope

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

copper vapor laser -> metal vapor laser

Devices in which the lasing medium is a vapor of metal atoms or ions, sometimes mixed with another gas. Metal vapor lasers use a variety of metal types to generate a variety of laser lines for...

core-coupled lens

A semispherical or conical lens created directly on the core of an optical fiber to focus light from a laser into the fiber core.

corner cube

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

corner-cube prism -> corner cube

corner-cube reflector -> corner cube

Cornu double prism

A compound prism formed by cementing together two 30° prisms, one of right-handed and one of left-handed quartz. It has good ultraviolet-transmitting qualities and no double refraction.

Cornu-Jellet prism

A prism formed by dividing a Nicol prism in a plane parallel to the path of vibration of the transmitted light and taking out the wedge-shaped piece. After the pieces are rejoined, the planes of...

correction window

An optical wedge of very small angles that admits light while sealing out moisture and dirt and that may be rotated to compensate for the errors in the entire system. Correction windows are sometimes...

correspondence theory

Bohr's formulation that every new theoretical principle must correspond to the salient classical predecessor. The principle imposes mathematical limits on theoretical discovery and implies, for...

cosine collector

Translucent collector developed to compensate for the partial blocking of a flat surface's collection angle that normally occurs in spectroradiometry. The device samples radiant flux according to the...

cosine law of illumination

Law relating the illuminance (or irradiance) of a surface to the cosine of the angle, q, between the normal to the surface and the direction of the incident wave.

cosmic expansion

The ongoing expansion of the universe based on observations of the recession of distant galaxies from each other as evidenced by the redshift in their spectral lines.

cosmic ray telescope

A system consisting of two or more Geiger-Müller counters, connected in coincidence with their centers on an axis. The only particles recorded are those traversing all counters, near the axis,...

coudé

A set of mirrors along a telescope's polar axis designed to redirect light to a fixed position without being affected by the motion or position of the telescope. From the French word for "elbow."

counting chamber

In microscopy, the chamber that is contained on a microscope slide to hold a certain amount of fluid. It is calibrated accurately to determine the number of cells and other elements while the...

coupled rangefinder

A rangefinder on a camera that is integrated with the focusing mechanism so that when an object's range is determined, the camera is automatically in focus.

coupler

1. In color development, the chemical that combines with certain by-products of the development procedure to form a dye. 2. Device for distributing optical power among two or more ports. 3. Device...

coupling efficiency

The fraction of available output from a radiant source that is coupled and transmitted by an optical fiber.

covalent crystal

A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these crystals classify them as semiconductors.

covered groove

A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate the construction of filters, resonators, beamsplitters and grating couplers...

coverslip

A coverslip, also known as a cover glass or cover slip, is a thin and flat piece of transparent material typically made of glass or plastic. It is used in microscopy to cover a specimen mounted on a...

cpm

cycles per minute

Craik-O'Brien effect

Observed when alterations in the luminous sterance at the contour of an object create the illusion of the outer zones appearing darker than the inner regions, despite the consistent luminance of the...

Crayford focuser

A high-quality focuser that uses rollers rather than gears and offers smooth, precise motion while reducing or eliminating image shift and backlash.

Photonics DictionaryC