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Photonics Dictionary

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acousto-optic modulators and deflectors
An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate or control the intensity, frequency, phase, or direction of laser beams. It...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of atmospheric distortions. The Earth's atmosphere can cause light passing through it...
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for measuring time. The most common type of atomic clock uses the vibrations of...
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with acoustic phonons (quantized lattice vibrations) in a material, resulting in the...
coherent communications
A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser produces an optical wave that is modulated in amplitude, phase or frequency by...
continuous wave
Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In various contexts, the term is used to describe continuous, uninterrupted...
corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...
corner-cube prism -> corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...
corner-cube reflector -> corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...
cube-corner prism -> corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or...
diamond turning
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...
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...
diffraction efficiency
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....
diffraction grating
A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...
diode-pumped solid-state laser
A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into a solid gain medium, resulting in the generation of coherent light. This...
directed energy
Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often associated with military and technological applications where energy, typically...
distributed feedback laser
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...
edge-emitting LED
An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the semiconductor chip rather than from the surface. Edge-emitting LEDs are...
electro-optic modulator
An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...
embedded laser
The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or structure. In this context, "embedded" implies that the laser is an integral part...
etalon
An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...
femtosecond laser
A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...
fiber Bragg grating
A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...
fiber laser
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...
fiber optic transceiver
A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...
fiberless optics -> free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the transmission of data using modulated beams of light through free space (air or a...
free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the transmission of data using modulated beams of light through free space (air or a...
GaAlAs laser
A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is composed of layers of gallium, aluminum, and arsenic, hence...
gallium arsenide phosphide
Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) is a semiconductor alloy composed of gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), and phosphorus (P). It is commonly used in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, particularly...
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that exhibits unique electrical and optical properties. Gallium nitride is...
GaN distributed feedback lasers
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...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather than having a uniform refractive index like conventional lenses. This...
holographic grating
A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors, where elements from groups III and V of the...
infrared light source
An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is...
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies beyond the visible spectrum. These components are crucial for various...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The...
isolator
In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one direction while attenuating or blocking signals in the opposite direction. The...
laser crystal
A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of lasers. The primary function of the laser crystal is to amplify light by...
laser drift
Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over time. In the context of lasers, stability in terms of frequency or wavelength...
laser optics
Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and focused beams of light through the process of optical amplification based...
local oscillator laser
In coherent optical communications systems, a laser used at the receiving end to produce a steady wave that is combined with the incoming laser signal before detection, generating a composite wave...
MEL
many-element laser; maximum excess loss (MEL) — the many element laser is a laser unit that consists of N like elements of active materials for support with the mode selection of the laser output. The mode selection properties of a many element laser have been experimentally exploited with as many as 10 like elements. Maximum excess loss is the maximum power lost within a give system (typically a fiber optic communication system) including scattering, dispersion, absorption and coupling loss.
micro-optics
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...
motion controller
In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...
mutual coherent function
A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems that rely on the spot size of a laser beam that has propagated along an...
nonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a material and induces nonlinear responses. In contrast to linear optics, where...
nonlinear polarization
Nonlinear polarization refers to the phenomenon where the polarization of a material responds nonlinearly to an applied electric field. In linear systems, the polarization of a material is directly...

Photonics Dictionary


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