Photonics Dictionary

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...

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...

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...

An instrument consisting of a high-voltage vacuum tube used to form hard x-rays or high-speed ion beams. By partitioning the tube into separate sections, the total voltage is divided.

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...

1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an instrument. 2. The adjustment of two or more optical axes with respect to each other....

An instrument that uses a beam of light to scan a color transparency, and three differently filtered photosensors to record the transmitted beam, as a means of producing three exposed separation...

A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical instruments to determine pulse code, repetition frequency and wavelength.

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

1. In optics, the bending of rays away from each other. 2. In lasers, the spreading of a laser beam with increased distance from the exit aperture. Also called beam spread. 3. In a binocular...

A spectrophotometer in which the beam emitted by the radiation source is split into beams that travel through the sample and a reference cell and are subsequently recombined to fall on the detector....

An electron instrument used to reflect an electron beam totally.

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and monochromators. It is a narrow opening or aperture through which light...

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of cells and particles suspended in a fluid. The method...

An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of the detector signal to provide the desired spectrum.

FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid, or gas sample. It operates based...

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

A theoretical instrument conceived of as a box that receives a beam of radiation of any arbitrary polarization angle and produces a new beam, coaxial with the incident beam, having a specified new...

An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a length in terms of the length of a wave of light by using interference...

Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...

An instrument designed to measure the index of refraction of a gas by the interference patterns formed by two beams, one of which passes through a vacuum tube in which the gas is slowly released.

A device used for measuring the height of clouds from a position on the ground. Measurement technique uses a vertically directed beam stably positioned such that scattered radiation may be detected...

Laser cooling is a technique used to reduce the temperature of a material or a collection of atoms or molecules by using laser light. It is based on the principle of selective absorption and emission...

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance, quality, and characteristics of lenses. These instruments are essential for...

An ophthalmic instrument used to measure the magnitude and direction of the maximum and minimum powers of a spectacle lens, and mark the optical center of the lens by an ink dot. When the lens to be...

An instrument that produces an intense, tightly focused beam of ions to stimulate emissions from a minute section of a sample undergoing spectroscopic analysis. The ion beams found in microprobes are...

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microscopes are instruments that magnify and...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small silvered, glass mirrors that are suspended, in the way of a torsion balance, by a...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a specific function within an optical system. These components may include lenses,...

An instrument used to test lenses by utilizing the optical transfer function. It consists of a HeNe laser, a beamsplitter and two mirrors.

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic objects, such as particles or biological cells, in three dimensions. This...

An optical medical instrument that uses an intense, precisely focused beam of light to stop weakened blood vessels from hemorrhaging. The thermal effect of the beam strengthens the weakened vessels...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

The investigation of microstructures by an instrument that generates a narrow, highly collimated beam of x-rays.

A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically in the visible and ultraviolet regions. It is...

An instrument that divides a single laser beam in two and uses one half as a sensing beam and the other as a reference beam, then recombines the two and measures any phase shift between them. The...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or positrons, in a closed, circular or elliptical path. The name synchrotron...

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid.

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...