Photonics Dictionary

A thermometric instrument used for the detection and measurement of radiant energy. Its essential component is a short narrow strip covered with a dead black absorbing coating and mounted at the...

A superconducting bolometer, operating at very low temperatures, that is used to detect infrared radiation.

A combination spectrometer and bolometer that is designed to measure a narrow band of radiation from a star.

A bolometer that serves to record. The photographic record formed by the bolometer may be called bolograph or bologram.

A device that detects radiation by utilizing the influence of light in forming an electrical signal. It may be a phototube; a photoconductive, photovoltaic or photojunction cell; a phototransistor;...

Fixed-pattern noise is the measure of the static (nontemporal) differences between pixels when the detector is evenly illuminated. In microbolometers, this effect is mostly caused by mismatch between...

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

Unlike the thermocouple or bolometer, the pyroelectric infrared detector is a current source with an output proportional to the rate of change of its temperature. Capable of extremely rapid response...

Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.

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),...

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...