Photonics Dictionary

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using various techniques to selectively switch or redirect optical paths. This...

The element that resembles a lightweight metal, but when very pure, has a very high electrical resistance and is transparent to the infrared between about 0.5 and 15 µm.

Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation for its internal operation. Any device that functions as an...

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

An optogenetic technique that embeds genetically-engineered proteins to the heart to aid in terminating arrhythmias. After the proteins are embedded in the heart, it can be defibrillated by pulses of...

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...

A television camera tube in which a low-velocity electron beam scans a photoactive mosaic that has been created by an optical image. Once scanned by the electron beam, the electrical storage capacity...

The graphic recording of physical changes vs. time, in electrical quantities, using an oscilloscope.

A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible trace on the phosphor screen of the tube and providing for examination of...

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well as in other light-sensitive tissues. These proteins play a crucial role in...

The finite amount of electrical charge generated in response to incident radiation and transferred from one storage element to the next in a charge-coupled device. Each packet corresponds to a pixel...

A passive optical network (PON) is a telecommunications network architecture that uses optical fibers and passive optical components to provide high-speed broadband services to end-users. In a PON...

An OLED display formed by creating an array of OLED pixels connected by intersecting anode and cathode conductors arranged in rows and columns. Electrical power is passed through selected pixels by...

A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses the Peltier effect to transfer heat between two electrical junctions. It can...

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...

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical quantity. In such sensors, variations in the phase of the signal are...

A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline lattice. In simpler terms, phonons are quanta of lattice vibrations in a solid...

A source made to glow by electrons that are produced either electrically or by isotopes of various elements.

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical signal. Photodetectors are widely used in various applications, ranging from...

A photodiode detector is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It operates based on the principle of the photoelectric effect, where photons of light incident on the...

A two-electrode, radiation-sensitive junction formed in a semiconductor material in which the reverse current varies with illumination. Photodiodes are used for the detection of optical power and for...

The control of an instrument or electrical circuit by the current produced by varying radiation incident to a photoelectric cell.

A relay that opens or closes an electrical circuit depending on the intensity of the light incident to a photoelectric device contained in the relay.

The force that stimulates the emission of an electrical current when photovoltaic action creates a potential difference between two points.

A system in which the electrical signal embedded within an audio input signal is converted to a modulated light pattern and recorded on film.

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely used in various applications where high sensitivity, fast response times,...

The property exhibited by a substance having electrical conductivity that decreases as the intensity of the incident visible radiant energy increases.

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 document-transmitting process that uses a cylinder that rotates the document to be scanned and detected by a photoelectric cell. The cell transforms the light into electrical energy that may be...

A phototransistor is a type of semiconductor device that converts light energy into electrical signals. Similar to a regular transistor, it consists of a semiconductor material (such as silicon) with...

A photoelectrical relay that uses a phototube as its photoelectric device to open and close an electrical relay; used to activate counters and safety controls.

A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term "photovoltaic" is derived from the words "photo," meaning light, and...

A crystal consisting of a substance that has the ability to become electrically polarized and has strong piezoelectric properties. It is cut so as to emphasize the coupling to some distinct...

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...

Piezoelectricity is a property exhibited by certain materials in which they generate an electric charge in response to mechanical stress or deformation, and conversely, undergo mechanical deformation...

Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in response to applied mechanical stress or strain. This change in resistance...

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals. The name "PIN" is derived from the arrangement of the three semiconductor...

Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology. It involves the combining or grouping of adjacent pixels on an image...

Pluggable optics, also known as pluggable transceivers or optical transceivers, are modular devices used in optical communication systems to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. They are...

Discharge that results when a doped semiconductor crystal with a PN junction is charged with a low-voltage direct current. The dual process depends on excitation caused by electrical energy...

A device designed to measure electromotive force or electrical difference potential.