Photonics Dictionary

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 mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a traditional oscilloscope and a logic analyzer. It is designed to capture and display...

1. The characteristic of how light propagates through a waveguide that can be designated by a radiation pattern in a plane transverse to the direction of travel. 2. The state of an oscillating system...

In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal modes. Longitudinal modes are specific electromagnetic field patterns that...

MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer function (MTF) of optical systems. The MTF is a quantitative measure of the...

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency...

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...

Simulation of radiative transfer in which each photon is generated by a source and its path through the medium is statistically simulated with absorption and scattering probabilities as well as with...

A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for applications including feature extraction and image segmentation in machine vision and...

A group of photosensors arranged in a grid-like pattern covering the entire field of view, enabling them to record it all at once (as a camera records an image on film) rather than by scanning parts...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...

The series of equally spaced parallel slits that make up a scanning aperture in place of a single slit, in the scanning of a repetitive pattern.

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a high-resolution, high-throughput process that involves the mechanical...

The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an infinite distance, or more specifically, the far field. Also referred to as the...

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum....

A computing paradigm that attempts to process information in a manner similar to that of the brain; it differs from artificial intelligence in that it relies not on pre-programming but on the...

A device consisting of a disc with a spiral arrangement of holes that is used to convert visible patterns into electrical patterns. Light is reflected from the subject and focused through a vertical...

A bench with instrumentation including a collimator, a microscope, positioners and a nodal slide used to rotate a lens about its second nodal point. The nodal bench is used to determine the cardinal...

The measurement of first- and higher order properties of a lens and its formed image, including effective focal length, back focal length, f number, aberrations, blur patterns, magnification and...

A coarse diffraction grating that is used to form a scale of intensities to determine the relative magnitudes of stars. The grating is placed over the objective of a telescope to form a diffraction...

An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and interpret data encoded in barcode symbols. Barcodes are typically printed on...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. It provides...

The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial domain representation of an image into its corresponding frequency domain...

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced, parallel slits or rulings. These slits or rulings act as obstacles to the...

A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential regions, forming a pattern of atoms resembling the structure of a crystal.

A measure of image quality produced by an optical system. May be specified in terms of cycles per millimeter, referencing a repeating bar pattern; or angular resolution, referencing the angle...

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...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

A technique for detecting and measuring atmospheric pollution, in which an oscillating mirror directs half the incoming light to a transducer that controls amplitude and frequency, and the resulting...

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue, typically neurons, which have been genetically modified to respond to light....

In astronomy, the main lobe of an antenna pattern that has a small angular extent in two mutually perpendicular directions. Invisible in space, it would resemble a searchlight beam.

In optics and photonics, "phase" refers to a property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the position of a wave at a given point in time within its oscillation cycle. More...

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...

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical quantity. In such sensors, variations in the phase of the signal are...

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...

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze stress distribution and behavior in materials. photoelastic equipment...

A technique proposed for studying the atomic structure of crystals by measuring the interference pattern generated when the crystal is illuminated by a burst of finely tuned x-rays. The resulting...

A system in which the electrical signal embedded within an audio input signal is converted to a modulated light pattern and recorded on film.

Photolithography is a key process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). It is a photomechanical process used to transfer...

A photomask, also known simply as a mask or reticle, is a key component in the photolithography process used in semiconductor manufacturing and other areas of microfabrication. It is a high-precision...

A photon sieve is an optical device used in the field of optics and imaging. It's designed to focus and shape light, typically for applications such as imaging or microscopy. The photon sieve...

A photonic cavity, also known as an optical cavity, is a structure that confines electromagnetic radiation within a certain region or volume. It is typically composed of materials with different...

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...

Photoresist is a light-sensitive material used in photolithography processes, particularly in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)....