Photonics Dictionary: P

In the SI system, prefix meaning 1015.

A microscope equipped with a polarizer, an analyzer and a Bertrand lens to focus on the upper focal plane of the objective. It is used chiefly by mineralogists and crystallographers for...

The grinding and polishing of rock samples, to a thickness of less than 0.05 mm, for study with petrographic microscopes. When mounted on a slide and protected with a cover, these samples, examined...

The study of and classification of rocks.

A high-speed, narrow-field lens consisting of two achromats spaced about the aperture stop. Its uses include portrait photography and motion picture projection.

A paraboloidal surface on which the image is located when there is no astigmatism.

Number of pulses emitted per unit of time by a pulsed laser.

A medical imaging device that uses a ring of crystal/photomultiplier tube assemblies encircling the patient to detect gamma rays emitted by positrons colliding with electrons.

Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently reduced or eliminated upon prolonged exposure to light. This process occurs...

A type of laser spectroscopy used to measure short-lived isotopes by observing sudden bursts of fluorescence resulting from repetitive excitation of an atom or molecule.

A laser that emits energy in a series of short bursts or pulses and that remains inactive between each burst or pulse. The frequency of the pulses is termed the pulse-repetition frequency.