Photonics Dictionary

In optical fiber, sharp but microscopic curvatures that create local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial wavelength displacements of a few millimeters. One frequent cause is longitudinal...

Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as light) by spherical particles. Unlike Rayleigh scattering, which is...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

A type of tubing used to protect optical fiber cables, consisting of a wire spiral of aluminum, galvanized steel or stainless steel, encased in a polyvinyl chloride or silicon rubber coating. These...

A fiber optic connector or splice that mates two multifiber cables, optically aligning all of the individual fibers simultaneously.

The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier. In most optical communication systems this is referred to as wavelength division multiplexing, in which...

A type of thermoset rubber used to jacket fiber optic cables, including those used in outdoor military installations.

A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows computers to connect to a local area network (LAN) and communicate with other...

The methods and techniques used to obtain medical photographs of the human eye. To photograph the exterior of the eye, conventional still photographic equipment and procedures are used. Similarly, in...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

A configuration or device mounted at the end of a fiber or cable that is intended to prevent reflection.

A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline lattice. In simpler terms, phonons are quanta of lattice vibrations in a solid...

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique used to detect changes in blood volume in tissues. It measures variations in light absorption caused by the pulsatile nature of blood...

The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. It characterizes how a single point of light is...

A material used to jacket fiber optic cables. It is chemical- and moisture-resistant, but not fire-resistant.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to establish a shared secret key between two parties, typically referred to as Alice...

A flexible fiber cable with a small diameter that transports light from the excitation laser to the target. Used in Raman spectroscopy, the probe is capable of obtaining high-quality data at high...

Parametric measurement for elliptical fiber and cable expressed as a ratio of the two-directional flow of power through the cable at any chosen point.

Calculation of peak and average transmission power at a given point along an optical fiber or cable.

In a dual-ring local area network, a node that is connected only to the primary, active ring and not to the secondary ring that provides a backup in case of cable or system failure.

STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence microscopy that surpasses the diffraction limit, enabling the visualization of...

A strand of aramid yarn, steel or fiberglass in an optical cable intended to prevent bending or stretching that would damage the transport medium.

A type of sheathing for fiber optic cable that incorporates a coil of metal; often used in harsh environments.

The process of attaching a device to the end of a fiber cable to enable the beam to be transmitted farther, to pass to another device and to avoid reflection.

A material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

A connection, typically made up of one or more cables, between a laser head and a separate power supply. Flexible pipes or hoses are sometimes used to protect and stabilize multiple cables.

A device that enables visual tracing of a fiber optic cable to check for breaks and defects by coupling visible light into the cable. Also called fiber tracer.

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

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.