Photonics Dictionary: T

The color process that is used to form positive color cine films by dye transfer or imbibition, based on the use of separate matrices that superimpose yellow, magenta and cyan dye images on the final...

1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain, temperature or pressure, and transmit this data to a receiving station. 2. A...

The ratio between the focal length of a lens having a longer focal length than that of the standard lens used with a camera, and the focal length of the standard lens. It is used to provide an...

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small telescope, and a mirror in the focal plane reflects an internal illuminated surface...

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is typically a curved, transparent piece of glass or other optical material...

The base used to hold an astronomical telescope. It may be either altazimuth, with horizontal and vertical axes of rotation, or equatorial, with one axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation and...

A device designed to enlarge the image of a microscopic object by television process. It may be a flying spot scanner that is used to scan the microscope slide, or a camera tube-microscope...

A television receiver that receives the signals generated by a television camera directly, or remotely through a radio signal. It may be used to continuously check image and sound reception; as a...

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to remote receivers. The video and audio components are transmitted...

A coating having pigments that change color when exposed to heat. This effect has been widely used to monitor hot spots in mechanical parts.

A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and differentiation of the data by simplified least squared procedures.

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz frequency range, typically spanning from about 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz),...

Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1 and 10 terahertz. One terahertz is equivalent to one trillion hertz, or...

A lens similar to the Cooke triplet anastigmat, with the rear crown achromatized for improved coverage and definition. It is used in medium-speed cameras and enlargers.

A device used to detect elevation, pyramid and resolution errors in prisms and other components by bringing them into contact with the three highly polished, flat, perpendicular surfaces that form...

A transparent block shaped accurately to reverse curvatures of the components it is used to test. By contacting an accurately finished negative lens shape with a newly made positive, the conformity...

A contraction for "texture element." A base unit used in computer graphics that defines the surface of three-dimensional objects. Texels are obtained from texture memory and represent color to be...

An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color indicating particular themes such as vegetation, cloud cover, temperature...

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces in contact. These materials are primarily employed in electronic devices,...

A solid-state semiconducting structure (basically one of the bolometers) that changes electrical resistance with temperature. Materially, some kind of ceramic composition is used. A thermistor has...

The instrument used to collect thermal radiation information on an object by scanning. It consists basically of a detector, a photoconductive element that converts incident radiation to an electrical...

Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera, to detect and visualize the infrared radiation emitted by objects. This...

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of thermophotovoltaics. In a thermophotovoltaic system, thermal radiation from a heat...

A material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

A type of holographic film widely used for industrial applications because it is inexpensive and erasable.

A device used to measure the thickness of a given substance.

A thin layer of a substance deposited on an insulating base in a vacuum by a microelectronic process. Thin films are most commonly used for antireflection, achromatic beamsplitters, color filters,...

A concept used for purposes of preliminary calculations and analysis. In theory it is a lens whose axial thickness is zero.

Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical, electrical, or mechanical properties. These coatings are composed of thin...

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. This technique is commonly employed in various...

A solar cell that is lightweight and flexible because of its construction by vacuum deposition of a semiconductor material (e.g., gallium arsenide or cadmium sulfide) onto a thin metal or plastic...

Two 30° prisms that are used to produce constant deviation when rotated by equal and opposite angles.

Thomson scattering is a phenomenon in physics where electromagnetic radiation, such as light, is scattered by charged particles. It is named after the British physicist J.J. Thomson, who first...

Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It is used in biological and medical research to capture high-resolution images...

An arc discharge tube having a grid that is used to start the discharge through an atmosphere of inert gas or vapor at low pressure.

A family of semiconductor switching devices of which the silicon-controlled rectifier and the triac are most commonly used. They are fabricated from four positive and negative alternating layers.

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over time. In the time domain, signals are represented as functions of time, showing...

Multiple exposures of holograms, one for each position of a vibrating image, that are used for vibration analysis and that yield a record of the time-averaged irradiance distribution at the hologram...

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the field of experimental physics, biophysics, and fluorescence lifetime imaging...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT scans over time, allowing for the dynamic observation and monitoring of...

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an amplitude or voltage signal. TACs are commonly used in various scientific and...

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial resolution provided by a sharp metallic or dielectric tip. TERS allows...

A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The name Ti:sapphire comes from the combination of titanium (Ti) as the dopant...

In fiber optics, the annular region between two concentric circles; used to specify fiber cladding and core sizes.