Photonics Dictionary

A projection printer that is capable of reproducing a multiplicity of images from a master transparency on a single support coated with a photosensitive layer by indexing the receiving material from...

The determination of axially symmetric and asymmetric refractive-index distributions by use of interferometry carried out on the basis of the approximation of a straight path of rays passing through...

An imperfection in optical glass consisting of a distinct streak of transparent material having a slightly different refractive index from the body of glass. It is caused by improper mixing of...

A copolymer of styrene and acrylic used in molded optical components; it has a high refractive index and a low coefficient of thermal expansion.

Also known as Fresnel reflection. That portion of the incident radiation that is reflected from the surface of a refractive material. It is a function of the refractive index of the material. At...

A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The field components of the wave may exist (in principle) throughout space, even to...

See honeycomb table; indexing table.

Formulas designating the relationships between image distance, object distance, focal length, refractive index, etc., of a thin lens.

A transparent dielectric film, bounded by material of a lower index of refraction, capable of guiding light.

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the principle of total internal reflection to selectively illuminate and image...

The method used to measure the index profile of an optical fiber by placing it in an interferometer and illuminating the fiber transversely to its axis.

The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber or preform by illuminating it coherently and transversely to its axis, and examining the far-field radiation pattern.

One of the four functions that allows the computation of a transparent medium's index of refraction, provided the index has been identified for four standard wavelengths.

Short-distance scattering of light in holography caused by random index inhomogeneities and the developing index that interferes with the incident beam, thus recording a hologram of the scattered...

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...

Scattering (other than material scattering) that is attributable to variations of geometry and index profile of the waveguide.

A fiber for which the difference between the maximum and the minimum refractive index is small, usually less than 1 percent.