SCANLAB GmbH - Laser Beam Deflection 2024 LB

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Photonics Dictionary: B

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bench -> optical bench

A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...

bistability -> optical bistability

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...

blacking -> optical blacking

A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...

bump-forming optical disk -> dye-polymer optical disc

A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a different wavelength of laser light. To record data, the lower layer is heated by...

b integral

Calculates the exponential growth of the least stable spatial frequency in a laser beam, and is the numerical equivalent of the nonlinear phase shift along the laser system's optical axis.

bacteriorhodopsin

A light-harvesting protein found in the purple membrane of a micro-organism called Halobacterium halobium. The protein undergoes a photocycle that involves several binary photochemical reactions that...

baffle

An opaque shielding device designed to reduce the effect of stray light on an optical system.

Baker-Nunn camera

A wide-field camera based on the classic Schmidt optical system used to photograph Earth-orbiting satellites.

ball lens

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

barcode scanner

An optical scanning device designed to read information printed in the form of bars of different size by detection and processing of the varying reflectivity of light in the barcode.

barium fluoride

A relatively hard crystal, highly resistant to excessive energy radiation, that is frequently used for optical windows, prisms and lenses transmitting from the vacuum UV into the IR.

barrier layer

In the fabrication of an optical fiber, a layer that can be used to create a boundary against OH-ion diffusion into the core.

bay

In optical character recognition, a feature at the boundary of a character.

beam divider -> beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

beam expander

A system of optical components designed to increase the diameter of a radiation beam. Usually an afocal system.

beam matrix

1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications requiring arrayed multiple beams. 2. A mathematical 2 X 2 or 3 X 3 matrix for...

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...

beam shaper

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...

beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

beamwidth

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...

beat length

A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes the length required for the polarization to rotate 360 degrees. For a given...

beauty defect

A defect on or in an optical element that does not appreciably impair the function of the surface.

bench photometer

A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the produced flux densities are equal. The luminous intensities of the two...

bend loss

The loss of optical power in an optical fiber because radiation escapes through its bends. The radiation loss caused by fiber bending is proportional to the bend radius.

bend radius

The radius of curvature that an optical fiber can bend without breaking.

bending of light

1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2. The curving of a path of light that passes close by a massive object, due...

binary on-off

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

binary optics

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....

binary phase-only filtering -> phase-only filter

A type of matched filter that responds only to the phase of incoming light; the output has a much greater intensity than that of a classical matched filter, which responds to phase and amplitude. The...

binocular parallax

The difference in angular bearing of an object as seen by the two eyes, due to the separation of the visual optical axes.

biocular

A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The term may be distinguished from binocular in that biocular instruments contain...

birefringence

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...

bismuth silicon oxide

A photorefractive material used in image processing, holography and optical switching.

blaze height

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...

bleaching -> saturable absorber

A saturable absorber is a type of optical device that exhibits variable absorption properties depending on the intensity of incident light. In essence, it becomes less absorbent as the light...

blink comparator

An optical system that rapidly alternates two similar pictures or scenes to permit the detection of small dissimilarities between them.

block

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical parts on the supporting member; e.g., a block of lenses or block of prisms.

blocking cement

An adhesive used to hold optical elements to blocking tools. It is usually a thermoplastic substance such as resin, beeswax, pitch or shellac.

blocking material

Pitch, wax, resin or other cement suitable for holding optical parts to a spindle during grinding and polishing processes.

blocking pitch

An adhesive used to affix optical elements to an approximately shaped body -- usually of cast iron.

blocking shaper

A convex, concave or flat cast iron form that is used to shape a soft mold block of optical components.

blocking tool

An instrument used to support optical parts to be cemented, or to be mounted in plaster.

blown fiber

A technique developed by British Telecom in which the viscous drag of air is used to install optical fibers in narrow plastic tubes.

blue diode laser

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

blur circle

A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...

body

In the optical field, a piece of glass to which a lens or prism is cemented. The unit is ground and polished as a whole to obtain a sharp edge on the finished piece.

boresight

The alignment process that makes the optical axes of two related systems parallel to each other. Also, making the optical axis parallel to a related weapon system axis.

boule

1. A group of optical fibers that are fused and then treated to produce a vacuum-tight optical fiber cone or plate. 2. An artificial crystal in its raw state, after generation but prior to cutting or...

bound mode -> guided mode

In an optical waveguide, a mode whose field decays monotonically in the transverse direction everywhere external to the core and which does not lose power to radiation. Also called bound mode.

boundary extraction

In optical character recognition, an intermediate step between character location and feature extraction.

Photonics DictionaryB