Photonics Dictionary

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,...

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...

A photosensitive device used to optically scan and read character data (numbers, letters etc.) and input this data into a storage device. Optical character readers are based off the process of...

The amount by which an optical surface deviates from its ideal design value, expressed in wavelengths of light. Optical manufacturers use this value to determine two common characteristics of an...

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...

The process whereby the number of atoms or atomic systems in a set of energy levels is changed by the absorption of light that falls on the material. This process raises the atoms to specific higher...

An optogenetic technique that embeds genetically-engineered proteins to the heart to aid in terminating arrhythmias. After the proteins are embedded in the heart, it can be defibrillated by pulses of...

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to crosstalk. 2. In the cross section of a fiber optic bundle, the ratio of fiber...

In data transmission, a self-checking code using a separate bit (the parity bit) to assure that all bytes of transmitted data contain either an odd or an even number of bits. Upon receipt, the data...

An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by the equation: where represents the wave number in the reciprocal centimeters,...

The number of electrons that can share a principal quantum number by preventing identity between any two electrons' four quantum numbers, thereby permitting the periodic arrangement of the elements.

A surface that obeys Lambert's cosine law and has a reflectance of unity.

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical signal. Photodetectors are widely used in various applications, ranging from...

A system in which the electrical signal embedded within an audio input signal is converted to a modulated light pattern and recorded on film.

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely used in various applications where high sensitivity, fast response times,...

A device used to evaluate the luminance of a surface by determining the number of photons emitted from a sample surface area.

A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a fundamental unit that represents a single point in a raster image, which is a grid of...

Geometrical partition possible with a sphere that can be four, six, eight, 12 or 20 solid-angle wedges. Each platonic mass is made up of a given number of regular polygonal faces and is classified...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through a series of temperature-controlled cycles....

Number of pulses emitted per unit of time by a pulsed laser.

A device with a limited number of possible output values (sometimes able to be selected) that can translate an incoming signal into these values or codes for outputting. See pulse code modulation. In...

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of photonics or electronics, converts incoming photons (light) into a useful output...

A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information processing. Unlike classical bits, which can exist in one of two states (0 or 1),...

A radioactive element that is placed or injected into a system to obtain an autoradiogram of the system. It is used in a number of fields where standard methods of internal imaging, for example,...

An instrument used to detect radioactive materials: alpha particles or helium nuclei; beta particles or free electrons; and gamma rays, which are x-rays of very short wavelength. They may be detected...

Total number of characters available to each position of a digital numeric system.

Reactive evaporation refers to a process in thin-film deposition where a material is deposited onto a substrate through evaporation, and chemical reactions take place during or after the evaporation...

A type of multiple-pass amplifier in which no optical leakage is allowed until a finite number of passes has occurred; at this time the entire cavity output is released as one pulse.

The ratio of the diameter of the entrance pupil in an optical system to the equivalent focal length of that system. The relative aperture is denoted as a fraction in which f, the equivalent focal...

A figure of merit corresponding to the amount of light seen by a viewer through binoculars. A higher number indicates a brighter image in low-light situations. The relative brightness value is...

Optical components, usually reflectors, produced using proprietary techniques that transfer the precision of a master to a number of elements.

A measurement in optical thin-film coating processes whereby the gases remaining in the vacuum chamber after coating are characterized by mass spectroscopy.

A chart on paper or glass containing a series of sets of lines at progressively smaller spacing and used to ascertain the limiting number of lines per millimeter that an optical system is capable of...

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or stimulus is applied at a specific frequency, causing the system to oscillate...