Photonics Dictionary: D

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

A complex filter that uses polarization and interference to transmit light that is nearly monochromatic.

All formulas that present the index of refraction as a function of a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Also called dispersion equation, Cauchy formula, Hartmann formula.

A type of glass optical fiber that provides low pulse dispersion over a broad portion of the light spectrum and as a result can operate at 1300-nm and 1550-nm wavelengths simultaneously.

Operation in which the dispersion of a pulse limits the distance between repeaters in optical systems. Waveguide and material dispersion can make recognition of a pulse impossible.

A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion, which is the phenomenon where different wavelengths of light travel at...

An organizational method used in optical design computer programs. The technique produces one number (merit function) to measure the state of correction of an optical system. This number, which is...

A telescope that corrects dispersion and spherical aberration through the use of one or more lenses, usually smaller than the objective lens, that are positioned at a distance from the objective lens.

Exhibiting the characteristic of materials that are electrical insulators or in which an electric field can be sustained with a minimum dispersion of power. They exhibit nonlinear properties, such as...

A spectrograph that uses a diffraction grating as its dispersive element in place of a prism, and yields greater resolving power, more dispersion and a linear spectrum.

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

A measure of the dispersive properties of a glass. The relative dispersion is defined as: where C, D, and F refer to the material's index of refraction at the three chief Fraunhofer lines in the...