Photonics Dictionary

The method of acquiring characteristic x-ray spectra from microscopic samples by use of the combination of a scanning electron microscope and x-ray spectroscopy.

Used for high-resolution surface study with subnanometer resolution. XRIM uses interfacial phase contrast with application of hard x-rays over elementary surface structures availing the observation...

A chart of an x-ray diffraction pattern.

An instrument that is used to chart x-ray diffraction patterns, such as an x-ray spectrometer having photographic or other recording implements.

A diagnostic instrument that uses a photocathode design to see a broad range of x-ray radiation by streaking the photographic image continuously in time. It produces time- and space-resolved...

Also known as an anticathode. An electrode or electrode section that is focused upon by an electron beam and that emits x-rays.

The pressure in the gas region of an x-ray tube that has been reduced below 0.1 mm, the pressure necessary for the tube.

The arc formed when the rare gas xenon is excited electrically and emits a brilliant white light. Xenon is used to fill electronic and stroboscopic flashlamps, and also large discharge tubes for...

An instrument for eye surgery that directs intense xenon arc light through the transparent cornea lens to the retina where absorption by the pigment epithelium and the choroid produces heat and...

A high-intensity source of incoherent white light in which a capacitor is discharged through a tube of xenon gas; often used as a source of pumping radiation for various optically excited lasers.

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation, to produce latent...

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with x-rays or gamma rays, to produce latent electrostatic-charge patterns for...

A recorder that plots, on a chart, the interaction between two variables, not directly representing time.

Fluid used to aid in examination of semifinished blanks.

Conventional coordinates for optical system analysis, the X-axis being the horizontal, the Y-axis the vertical and the Z-axis the optical axis of the system.

The vertical deflection of an image on a cathode-ray tube screen.

A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline material. YAG crystals are known for their exceptional optical properties,...

In positioning, in-plane rotation about the vertical axis. Also known as azimuth.

A method of graphical ray tracing through a boundary surface dividing two media of differing indices of refraction.

The constant equal to the unit stress divided by unit deformation, relative to all values and a substance's proportional restrictions.

The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference patterns between two beams of light from the same source. This was produced by...

The intensity regulation of a cathode-ray tube by alteration of the grid-cathode voltage.

A technique for determining the nonlinear optical properties of a sample material by moving the sample through a focused laser beam and measuring changes in the beam's characteristics, such as...

The splitting of energy levels of an atom, ion or molecule because of a magnetic field.

A type of semiconductor diode used in voltage-limiting circuits; when voltage reaches a certain value, the device becomes a conductor.

A telescope that is fixed or has a limited degree of movement in a vertical plane; primarily used to determine the position of stars near the zenith.

The introduction of a filter into an imaging system to implement a phase contrast for an intensity mapping of a pure phase image.

A highly flame-retardant material used to jacket fiber optic cables, especially on shipboard applications.

A mirror that supplies equal reflectance for both the S-polarization and the P-polarization of a laser for a defined angle of incidence, usually 45°.

In a single-mode optical fiber, the wavelength that causes material dispersion and waveguide dispersion to cancel each other. In a multimode fiber, loose term for the wavelength at which there is a...

The removal of the zero-order component of the Fourier spectrum distribution of an object with a small, opaque absorber or reflector in the Fourier plane, to produce images that appear bright on a...

A grating that specularly reflects the specified long radiation wavelengths and diffracts the shorter wavelengths off in known directions, eliminating the interference of randomly scattered radiation.

A polyethylene grating that transmits the long wavelengths and diffracts shorter wavelengths in controlled directions.

Schott Glass Technologies' trade name for a glass-ceramic material with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion.

The difference in electrokinetic potential between the stationary liquid connected to a solid phase surface and the mobile portion of the liquid's diffuse layer.

A polycrystalline material that transmits in the infrared; it is used as a phosphor in x-ray and television screens.

A two-fiber optical cable containing two single-fiber cables that are connected by a strip of jacket and that can easily be separated from one another for the installation of optical connectors.

An infrared transmitting material used in the production of fluoride glasses for optical fibers.

Spherical or chromatic aberration in a lens having a wide aperture. It is present because the refracting power varies for different zones concentric at the axis. This is the residual when the lens...

Also known as zonal axis. The axis positioned through the center of a crystal that is parallel to a zone edge.

A plate of glass, usually a photograph, on which there is a central spot surrounded by concentric annular zones, alternately opaque and transparent, the radii of the boundaries between the zones...

An optical system of variable focal length, the focal plane remaining in a fixed position. This result is achieved by moving some of the components of the system along the lens axis, other components...