Photonics Dictionary

Spectrometric analysis of the distinct and characteristic spectra of atoms of elements. The atoms are energized to emit radiant energy, which, when dispersed by a prism or diffraction grating,...

1. A plane that forms one side of the groove ruled on a diffraction grating. 2. To form the individual grooves of a grating with flat smooth faces, inclined to the surface by an angle known as the...

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...

The method of disintegrating the substance of the cathode by bombarding it with ions and depositing it on another electrode or electron tube envelope.

A laser whose pulses are expanded, using gratings and optical fibers, before amplification and compressed to increase beam intensity without damage to the optical train.

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate the construction of filters, resonators, beamsplitters and grating couplers...

A form of monochromator optical system consisting of two spherical concave mirrors used in conjunction with a movable diffraction grating.

A device used in ultrasonic imaging to measure the velocity and attenuation of compressional waves in a transparent liquid by virtue of acoustic waves set up in the liquid. The wavefronts serve as a...

Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs light into specific diffraction orders or achieves a desired optical effect....

Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings, surface-relief diffractive lenses, holographic optical elements and...

A device similar to distributed feedback lasers in construction and operation, but in which the period grating that produces feedback is removed from the gain region to simplify fabrication. The...

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

A grating that serves to provide higher resolution and dispersion than the average grating, and still has a greater free spectral range than either the Fabry-Perot etalon or the reflection echelon.

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and monochromators. It is a narrow opening or aperture through which light...

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or environmental parameters. Unlike traditional electrical sensors, fiber optic sensors...

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...

The separate spectral lines formed by a diffraction grating that are characterized by one wavelength difference in path length between adjacent slits.

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...

A type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at points on a silicon chip, maximizing the speed of signal propagation.

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric shapes, such as spheres or paraboloids. Unlike conventional mirrors, which...

GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium Nitride materials and designed with a distributed feedback structure. These...

1. A faint second image caused by reflection that is sometimes seen when observing through an optical instrument. 2. With respect to spectroscopy, a false image of a spectral line formed by...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It usually consists of a radiation source such as a Nernst glower, a monochromator,...

A method of analysis in which a pulsed laser beam is used to heat a particle, producing a plasma, or laser spark. As the plasma cools, optical energy characteristic of the elements in the plasma is...

A system that uses a continuous-wave laser to measure the velocity of an object by focusing the laser beam on the object, perpendicular to its direction of motion. An optical grating receives...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

An optical interference technique widely utilized as a method of nondestructive testing when determining the ray deflection and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of an optical system associated...

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern developed from interference or light blocking, when gratings, screens or regularly...

Contour mapping technique that involves positioning a grating close to an object and observing its shadow on the object through the grating. The resultant moiré fringes correspond to a contour line...

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

An instrument that contains a spectrograph with a grating in which an array of slits, in place of a photographic plate, is arranged according to the lines of the sample to create an illustration of...

A lithography method that allows the transfer of fine-pitch gratings from a phase mask into photoresist. The exposure takes place with the light coming under an oblique angle to the mask. The...

Used in halftone screens to change the fundamental sampled spatial frequency of the halftoned picture, as well as varying the width of the pulse-modulated dots or gratings.

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to simulate, model, analyze, and optimize the performance of optical systems and...

1.) Generally, the electromagnetic spectrum within the wavelength region extending from the vacuum ultraviolet at 40 nm to the far-infrared at 1 mm. 2.) The wavelength or color distribution...

Optical strain sensors are devices that utilize optical principles to measure the deformation or strain experienced by a material under mechanical stress. These sensors convert changes in strain into...

A mounting used for large concave gratings, whereby the slit, grating and plate holder lie in the Rowland circle, and the photographic plates lie along a large portion of the circle. In this way, a...

In optics and photolithography, a phase mask refers to a device that modifies the phase of light waves passing through it. The phase mask is used to control the spatial distribution of the light's...

An interferometric technique for the generation of precision gratings that allows for sequential exposure of small segments in the writing of a large grating, allowing increased intensity that...

The first-order spectrum formed by a diffraction grating.