Photonics Dictionary: M

Method for reducing laser speckle in which the object field comes from a real diffuse object or the reconstructed object field from a hologram. During recording of the image, an aperture is moved in...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...

Computerized lens design algorithm that permits the lens MTF characteristic to be included and controlled during the optimization process. MTF optimizations typically allow lens design users to...

Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or axes. In various technical and engineering contexts, achieving precise...

A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation. This style of detector is composed of opaque photocathodes for photon to...

A group of four cameras loaded with different combinations of filters and film (one is usually an infrared color film) to permit the recording of the same subject in four separate regions of the...

An instrument that contains a spectrograph with a grating in which an array of slits, in place of a photographic plate, is arranged according to the lines of the sample to create an illustration of...

A spectrometric instrument that detects radiation simultaneously in multiple channels, sorts it spectrally from the deep ultraviolet to the infrared, digitizes the information and stores it for...

A hologram formed by reconstruction of multicolor wavefronts. The system used to produce the hologram is designed to combine the different colored wavefronts of the separate illuminating sources, and...

Used in computer design for optical systems with common parts and different applications.

Fiber optic cable bearing many fibers independently sheathed and capable of carrying unrelated signals. They often surround a central strength member, and can be either loose- or tight-buffered. One...

An array of optically distinct fibers that are fused into one strand. They are used to keep the resolution efficiency of the smaller, single fibers and eliminate difficulty in handling. Their...

A multihaul transceiver is an optical transceiver module designed to support multiple network architectures or transmission technologies within a single compact device. It offers versatility and...

A photovoltaic device that consists of multiple p-n junctions to produce a greater efficiency when in use than that of traditional single junction devices. A multijunction device is unique because...

A coating made up of many layers of material having alternating high and low refractive index. In this way, it is possible to produce coatings with a great variety of properties. These may be...

A fiber optic bundle split along its length with the ends of the fibers extending separately to illuminate different points with a single light source.

A multiline laser system refers to a type of laser that is capable of emitting multiple discrete wavelengths or spectral lines simultaneously. Unlike single-line lasers, which produce radiation at a...

A technique that combines two or more imaging processes in order to minimize the disadvantages within each of the contributing processes. In medical applications, combining multiple modalities...

In an optical waveguide,- typically a multimode fiber - the distortion resulting from differential mode delay, i.e. axial rays (modes), with the shortest path length, will have the shortest...

A laser that produces emission in two or more transverse or longitudinal modes.

A method of reducing dark current in charge-coupled devices by holding all the clocks at negative voltage during the integration period.

A process involving the interaction (absorption, emission or both) of two or more photons with a molecular entity.

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby all the processing elements are operating under their own local control rather than under the direction of a central control unit.

Characteristic of optical correlators in which invariance to more than one distortion parameter per axis of the processor is obtainable.

A camera that uses a rotating mirror to project sequential images onto lenses that are arranged in an arc. The reflected images can then be recorded on stationary film. By using an 8-mm frame format,...

A specific form of phase shifting interferometry - commonly referred to as multiple wavelength phase shifting interferometry - this form of interferometry utilizes two short wavelengths to synthesize...

A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in physics, a multiplet is recognized as a group of related subatomic particles.

The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier. In most optical communication systems this is referred to as wavelength division multiplexing, in which...

Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike hyperspectral imaging, which acquires...

The use of narrow bandpass filters and special photographic emulsions to discern features of a surface that would not be easily recognizable with regular black-and-white or color photographic methods.

An instrument used to record the emittance or reflectance of an object by scanning with discrete spectral resolution over a wide spectral band, or recording many discrete spectral bands...

A monolithic laser diode incorporating multiple coupled emitters.

A collection of color samples arranged in charts according to equal visually spaced steps in Munsell hue, value and chroma.

Alphanumerical description of color according to Munsell hue, value and chroma.

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...

A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems that rely on the spot size of a laser beam that has propagated along an...