Photonics Dictionary: I

In optics, an image is the reconstruction of light rays from a source or object when light from that source or object is passed through a system of optics and onto an image forming plane. Light rays...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized electronic device used to amplify low-light-level images to make them visible to...

The light formed by visible radiation that, in traveling from light source to object, undergoes one or more reflections. In microscopy, it is the light that falls on the object at right angles to the...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...

An infrared source, set in a stationary position, that is used as a reference in certain navigational systems.

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is...

The photographic recording of images on a medium sensitive to infrared radiation, using a source capable of emitting in the infrared and a filter that transmits only infrared radiation.

Photographic recording that uses infrared radiation as the light source to form an image of a microscopic object and a system of lenses and objectives that are transparent to the radiation. The image...

Any object that emits radiation of a wavelength lying between about 0.75 to 1000 µm. A calibrated secondary source usually is a heated cavity (blackbody) or a filament lamp rated in wattage...

An infrared source combined with reflecting projection optics to illuminate a target making it visible when observed through an infrared viewing device.

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It contains an internal modulator to amplitude-modulate the output signal, an...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It usually consists of a radiation source such as a Nernst glower, a monochromator,...

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its external environment, including peripherals, storage devices, networks, and...

Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a sensor collects and accumulates incoming light or signal. It is a crucial...

The law stating that the illuminance (or irradiance) from a point source varies as the inverse square of the distance between the source and the receiver.

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...