Photonics Dictionary

An optical device, such as a Nicol prism, capable of producing plane-polarized light, and used for detecting the effect of the object on plane-polarized light produced by the polarizer.

A device that permits only electrons within a narrow velocity range to pass through it, while rejecting those above and below.

An instrument designed to calculate the amplitude and phase of the different harmonic elements of a radiation wave utilizing a graph of the wave.

A spectrometric instrument that detects radiation simultaneously in multiple channels, sorts it spectrally from the deep ultraviolet to the infrared, digitizes the information and stores it for...

The instrument used to analyze a pulsed electromagnetic wave to determine its time, amplitude, duration and shape, and to display this information in some appropriate form, either visually or...

A scanning device used to cyclically tune through a given frequency range to determine the amplitude-frequency distribution of the signals present, usually by displaying output on a chart or...

A device designed to measure the amplitude and frequency of the elements in a complex waveform.

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular wavelength or energy level. It is a distinctive feature in the absorption...

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and simulate the propagation of optical waves, particularly in the context of wave...

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...

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...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to automatically inspect and detect defects or anomalies in products. AOI systems use...

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the incident beam. This occurs when the incident radiation encounters a target or...

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...

A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other levorotary, over the analyzer of a polariscope. In this way, polarization tints may...

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

An instrument designed to analyze the optical effects of color.

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

A device used to project a reference spectrum next to a spectrum to be analyzed to provide visual comparison.

A small mass spectrometer, with a limited mass range, equipped with an analyzer to generate a cycloidal-path beam of the sample.

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical quantities that vary over time or space. In the context of DSP, these signals...

A step-by-step method of reducing the amount of data in a digital video signal to transmit or store a high-quality image. The digitized picture is analyzed, and fine detail and redundant pixels,...

An imaging process, similar to specific Doppler mapping radar techniques, that utilizes a laser, an optical imaging system, and a line array of photodetectors and spectrum analyzers. The laser...

A mass spectrometer utilizing both radial electrostatic and magnetic field analyzers to improve the focusing and increase resolution.

A device consisting of an airtight quartz tube that holds the material to be analyzed. When a high-frequency electrostatic field, generated by microwaves, is applied to the tube, it emits energy of a...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or machines. Computer vision involves teaching machines to interpret and understand...

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

Enhanced picture archiving and communication system (PACS) display (ePAD) is a software tool used in medical imaging to view, manipulate, and analyze radiological images, such as x-rays, CT scans,...

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in orientation or rotation. It operates based on the principle of the Sagnac effect,...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau interferometer is named after the French physicist Armand Fizeau, who...

A technique in photometry that uses an oxyhydrogen or oxyacetylene flame to optically excite a solution containing the sample to be analyzed.

Any of a number of instruments that uses a flame to vaporize a solution of the chemical being analyzed so that light may be passed through the vapor. Monochromation of the transmitted light is...

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...

The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their frequency components. In contrast to the time domain, where signals are...

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 semicircular, half-wave quartz plate between the polarizer and analyzer. It often is used in forming precision settings with a polariscope.

A method of measuring flow velocity by seeding the flow with neutrally buoyant particles and using a pulsed laser to holographically record particle displacement during a short time period. An...

The technique that uses light to detect and analyze the antibodies produced by a specimen stained with an organic dye.

A spectral line of an internal standard; used to compare radiant energy of the line being analyzed.