DataRay Inc. - ISO 11146-Compliant Laser Beam Profilers

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48 terms

Photonics Dictionary: B

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Babinet compensator

A device containing two opposed quartz wedges of equal angle, one wedge being movable along its length by a micrometer screw. The wedges are cut so that their fast directions are along, and...

back focal length

The distance from the final optic within a system to the rear image point of the system. See focal length.

backreflection -> narcissus

A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into a detector. It can be reduced by low-reflective coatings or by altering the...

ball lens

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

band-to-band photoluminescence

The emission of a photon by the return of an excited carrier from the conduction band to the valence band of a semiconductor along a radiative recombination path. The resulting photoluminescence...

bandgap

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed. It represents the energy difference between the valence band, which is the...

barium fluoride

A relatively hard crystal, highly resistant to excessive energy radiation, that is frequently used for optical windows, prisms and lenses transmitting from the vacuum UV into the IR.

base-altitude ratio

In aerial photography, the ratio derived from a stereoscopic pair of photographs that represents the air-base length divided by the flight altitude.

beam candlepower

With relation to the equivalent beam candlepower of a searchlight, the candlepower of a bare source that would produce the same illumination at the respective point if located the same distance away.

beam divider -> beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

beam optics -> Gaussian beam optics

The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e. lenses- under the paraxial (small divergence angle) approximations. Gaussian...

beam positioner

A device (e.g., prisms, lenses, tubes) used to align a beam in a system.

beam profiling

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It involves measuring and visualizing how the optical power or intensity is...

beam shaper

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...

beam shuttle

A set of mirrors mounted on solenoids to move them into and out of the path of a laser beam, making it possible for multiple workstations to alternate using the single laser source.

beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

beamwidth

The angular width of a radiation beam. With respect to a conical beam of light, it is the vertex angle of the cone. The beamwidth is a measure of the rate of divergence or convergence of a light...

beat length

A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes the length required for the polarization to rotate 360 degrees. For a given...

bellows

In optics, a collapsible structure situated between the lens and film of a camera to allow variation of the distance between them while preventing surrounding light from exposing the film.

bench -> optical bench

A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...

Bertrand lens

A small convergent lens, located between the objective and eyepiece of a microscope, that focuses an image of the upper focal plane of the objective in the focal plane of the eyepiece. It is commonly...

bevel

A chamfer ground on the edge of a lens or prism. Bevels are used to prevent chipping or to achieve a mechanical fit.

bevel face width

The actual width of a bevel rather than its width projected along the lens aperture.

bias frame

A frame taken with a CCD camera over an exposure length of zero seconds with the lens cap on or the shutter closed and no light reaching the sensor. This frame shows the electronic noise in the...

biconcave lens

A lens having each of its outer faces curved inward.

biconvex lens

A lens having each of its outer faces curved outward.

bifocal lens

A two-part lens that has a different focal length for each part. Generally, it is used in eyeglasses to correct for both near and far vision.

Billet's split lens

An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the halves are separated. This produces a double image of a slit source set...

binocular magnifier

A device having a pair of decentered lenses, one for each eye, that focuses on a single object as a magnifier. It is often supplied with a forehead fixture or an elastic headband to leave the hands...

bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon in which living organisms produce and emit light through a chemical reaction occurring within their bodies. This light emission is typically the result of a...

biprism

A piece of glass polished flat on one side, with a pair of polished faces that form an angle close to 180° on the other side, the dividing edge running down the middle of the plate. It is used...

birefringent filter

A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of alternating layers of polarizing films and plates cut from birefringent crystal.

bistability -> optical bistability

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...

bitoric lens

A lens, both surfaces of which are ground and polished into a toric or cylindrical form.

blackbody

An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all wavelengths. The radiation emitted by such a body when heated is referred to as...

blackbody source

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...

blaze height

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...

block

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical parts on the supporting member; e.g., a block of lenses or block of prisms.

blue diode laser

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

blur circle

A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...

body

In the optical field, a piece of glass to which a lens or prism is cemented. The unit is ground and polished as a whole to obtain a sharp edge on the finished piece.

borescope

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or gas mains. The long narrow tube used contains a telescope system with as...

Bragg's law

The law expressing the condition under which a crystal will reflect a beam of x-rays with the greatest amount of distinction or resolution and, at the same time, denoting the angle at which the...

brass gauge

A sheet of thin brass, one edge of which has been accurately cut to a known and marked circular radius. It is used to check the radius of curvature of a rough-ground lens by contact.

brightfield

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

broadband dielectric mirrors

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

bump-forming optical disk -> dye-polymer optical disc

A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a different wavelength of laser light. To record data, the lower layer is heated by...

burnishing

The process of lapping a thin edge of metal over the bevelled edge of a lens to maintain it within its cell.

Photonics DictionaryB