Type

Browse by Letter

SCANLAB GmbH - Laser Beam Deflection 2024 MR

PI Physik Instrumente - 50 ways hexapod HP 5/24

277 terms

Photonics Dictionary

Clear All Filters x detectors x
infrared detector

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

photodiode detector

A photodiode detector is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It operates based on the principle of the photoelectric effect, where photons of light incident on the...

scintillation detector

A scintillation detector is a radiation detection device that utilizes scintillation crystals to detect and measure ionizing radiation, such as gamma rays, x-rays, or charged particles. It consists...

thermal detector -> infrared detector

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

3D laser triangulation

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

absorption meter

A measuring device that uses a light-sensitive cell or detector to determine the amount of light transmitted by a substance.

active element

Component that is externally controlled via electronic or photon signal.

after-image

That image remaining on the detector after the primary stimulus has been removed. In the visual system, the after-image commonly appears as the complementary color of the primary stimulus.

amplification -> gain

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier. A material that exhibits gain rather than absorption, at certain...

angular misalignment

Angular deviation from the optimum alignment of source to optical waveguide, waveguide to waveguide, or waveguide to detector, resulting in a loss of optical power.

APD detector

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by converting incoming photons into electrical current. It operates based on the...

area image sensor -> mosaic detector array

A group of photosensors arranged in a grid-like pattern covering the entire field of view, enabling them to record it all at once (as a camera records an image on film) rather than by scanning parts...

atomic absorption spectrometer

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

automatic profiling

In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This information is calculated electronically to establish the divergence between...

averaged threshold receiver

A receiver for optical communications systems consisting of a symmetric binary, pulse-code-modulated transmitter, a log-normal channel and an array of independent photocounting detectors that yield...

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...

baseline

The smallest amount of photon energy to pass a detector window and be counted.

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...

binary on-off

Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.

burn-through

A detector's ability to sense an object on the opposite side of a thin but opaque barrier such as cardboard.

camera

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

capnometer

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

card reader

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

centerburst

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

centroid -> image centroid

Often referred to as the geometric center of a given image or image plane, the centroid of an image is a fixed point located at the intersection of all of the hyperplanes of symmetry within that...

cesium oxide cell

A photoemissive detector sensitive to wavelengths up to 1 µm. It has one sharp maximum of sensitivity at 350 nm and a broad maximum at 800 nm.

chalcogenide

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

channel electron multiplier

A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along the tube causes photoemission from the photocathode at the end of the tube...

chemical actinometer

A light-sensitive detector having a chemical compound that reacts when exposed to light. It is used in photochemistry and relies on the chemical reaction to determine the amount of incident radiation.

CMOS image sensor

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

coded disc

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of the beam. It also is used in infrared detectors to scan the object field...

cold finger

A cryogenically cooled component incorporated into the Dewar of an infrared detector assembly to maintain the sensing elements at the proper temperature (77 K or colder).

cold shield

That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a uniformly cold temperature so that no thermal energy is emitted. Also known as...

collection angle

The solid angle of a detector or system pupil as seen by the source.

confocal scanning microscope

A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture in front of the illumination source and the other at the focal position in...

continuous dynode electron multiplier -> channel electron multiplier

cooled infrared detector

An infrared detector that achieves a specified sensitivity through the application of certain cryogenic temperatures.

coupler

1. In color development, the chemical that combines with certain by-products of the development procedure to form a dye. 2. Device for distributing optical power among two or more ports. 3. Device...

crystal diode

A diode with a semiconducting material, such as germanium or silicon, for one electrode, and a fine wire "whisker'' which lies on the semiconductor, as the other electrode. The low capacitance...

cutoff wavelength

1. In detector technology, the long wavelength at which detector response falls to a set percentage (usually 20 or 50 percent). 2. In fiber optics, the shortest wavelength at which a fiber transmits...

A value used to designate the relative sensitivity of a detector. The higher the D* value, the better the detector.

D-star -> D*

A value used to designate the relative sensitivity of a detector. The higher the D* value, the better the detector.

dark current

The current that flows in a photodetector when there is no optical radiation incident on the detector and operating voltages are applied.

dark noise

The noise produced in a photodetector when the photocathode is shielded from all external optical radiation and operating voltages are applied.

dark signal -> dark current

The current that flows in a photodetector when there is no optical radiation incident on the detector and operating voltages are applied.

DAS

differential absorption scattering; detector angular subtense; dual attachment station

delay time

The interval between direction of signal to a light-emitting diode and attainment of 10 percent output current in the photodetector.

depletion region

The region at the PN junction in a semiconductor radiation detector where the potential energies of the two materials create an energy barrier, which results in an electrical field that depletes the...

detectivity

A measure of the sensitivity of a detector; the reciprocal of noise equivalent power (NEP). See D*.

detector

1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of the radiation. The device may function by electrical, photographic or...

Photonics Dictionary