Photonics Dictionary

A glass-ceramic material developed in Russia. Astrosital resembles Zerodur in terms of its ultralow thermal expansion. Other spellings include Astro-Sital and Astro-Sitall.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

Glass of special composition that is melted, formed into desired shapes, and subjected to a high-temperature treatment in which the glass undergoes a stage of nucleic formation, and a second stage,...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are produced through different manufacturing processes and have distinct properties...

A type of glass used in telescope mirrors, formed by adding a nucleating agent to standard glass and then heating it until it crystallizes.

A furnace used to heat glass materials. It may be a small laboratory-type furnace for small-scale experiments or large enough to hold gas-fired tanks for the commercial mass production of glass....

A porous ceramic substance that is ground to a given optical form and on which a polished plate of glass is sagged by heat application. It is capable of transmitting in a partial vacuum. The glass...

Westinghouse trade name for an alloy of iron, nickel and cobalt, which has the same thermal expansion as glass and therefore is often used for glass-to-metal or ceramic-to-metal seals.

Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or appearance. This technique is widely used for labeling, identification, and...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle detection, imaging, spectroscopy, and night vision technology. It consists of a...

Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical systems. These materials are designed to provide secure and durable bonds...

Transparent glassy and or crystalline structured materials engineered from inorganic, non-metallic materials via various methods that include heat or specific chemical reactions. Optical ceramics...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. and it is exact for a parabola. 2. Conforming a sheet of glass to a...

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