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 emission of light by thermal radiation of a temperature high enough to render the source of radiation visible.

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 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...

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...

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

A semiconductor diode operating in either a coherent or incoherent mode that is used as a near-infrared or visible source in triggering light-activated devices.

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 spectrum produced by the interference of light provided that the source used to create the interference has a broad enough emittance to form a spectrum.