Photonics Dictionary: T

In a cathode-ray tube, the visible line or lines formed on the screen by the deflection of the electron stream.

1. The process of following an object's movement; accomplished by focusing a radar beam on the reticle of an optical system on the object and plotting its bearing and distance at specific intervals....

Measurement of a translation stage's deviation from absolute straightness, that is, its angular motion in both the vertical and the horizontal planes.

A controlled motion system that may use a telescope, camera or antenna to follow accurately a satellite, missile, vehicle or other device in response to radar, radio or computer signals.

An instrument or system capable of both transmitting and receiving a signal.

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields, including electronics, acoustics, and instrumentation, to facilitate the...

A process used to control thickness and parallelism precisely during the production of plane-parallel plates. Elements are cemented to a blocking tool and their upper surfaces are polished. A second...

The complex function, H(f), equal to the ratio of the output to input of the device as a function of frequency. The amplitude and phase responses are, respectively, the magnitude of H(f) and the...

A single long gate electrode that transfers the line of charge packets to the transport shift register in a charge-coupled device.

The rate at which data can be read from a CD-ROM.

A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a specimen of the material inside a vacuum, preheating it slightly above the...

An electronic device consisting of a semiconductor material, generally germanium or silicon, and used for rectification, amplification and switching. Its mode of operation utilizes transmission...

The process whereby a quantum mechanical system alters from one energy level to another. During this process, energy is emitted or absorbed, and it usually takes the form of photons, phonons, or...

Transition metals are elements found in the d-block of the periodic table, which includes groups 3 to 12. They are characterized by their partially filled d orbitals in the electron configuration....

Pertaining to materials having the property of reflecting a part and transmitting a part of the incident radiation.

A screen composed of a sheet of diffusing plastic material that reveals excellent image detail for close viewing. It is efficient for use with microfilm readers.

Measure of the amount of light that is transmitted, relative to the amount lost by absorption or reflection.

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create high-resolution images of extremely thin samples. In a TEM, electrons are...

A transparent diffraction grating that serves to transmit light.

A hologram that is illuminated by a source opposite the viewer.

A restricting wavelength above or below which a specified form of radiation is totally almost absorbed by a specified medium.

The decrease in power that occurs when an optical beam or signal is transmitted through a system.

In polarized light, the plane of vibration that a polarizer will transmit.

A precision lens designed to convert the plane wavefront output of an interferometer to a spherical wavefront for the testing of curved (spherical) surfaces.

In optics, the conduction of radiant energy through a medium. Often denotes the percentage of energy passing through an element or system relative to the amount that entered. See transmission...

The internal transmittance per unit thickness of a nondiffusing material.

The methods used to determine the extinction characteristics of a medium.

The ratio of the radiant power transmitted by an object to the incident radiant power.

The central wavelength range of a transmitter based on the worst-case scenarios of temperature, manufacturing and other variations.

In fiber optic communications, a light source whose beam can be modulated and sent along an optical fiber, and the electronics that support it.

An image affixed to a transparent photographic film or plate by photographic, printing or chemical methods. It may be viewed by transmitted light.

A metal box with an opal glass front enclosing a lamp, used for viewing color transparencies or x-ray films.

Capable of transmitting light with little absorption and no appreciable scattering or diffusion.

Imaging materials that generally consist of a polyester base, a transparent electrically conductive layer and an organic photoconductive top coating. When charged and exposed to light, an...

A receiver-transmitter device that automatically transmits a signal when the proper interrogating signal is received.

The element in a charge-coupled device that receives the charge packets transferred from the line of sensor sites and then delivers the image data to the device's output circuitry.

Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least for slab geometry. The approximations are usually differential equations...

In optics, the changing of the relative curves of a lens without changing its refractive value.

A computer whose architecture contains several CPU chips arranged in parallel. Often used in image processing systems.

An alternate term for lateral chromatic aberration. See chromatic aberration.