Photonics Dictionary

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a medium or material. Unlike direct transmission through a transparent...

A term for thermoplastic optical materials; that is, those in which the polymer chains remain linear after heating and molding and which thus can be remolded again and again, unlike thermoset...

A plastic disc coated with ferric oxide or other films on which data can be stored by selectively magnetizing areas of the surface.

An interference filter in which a very thin metal foil with a periodic array of square holes (inductive mesh) or a thin plastic substrate with an array of metal squares (capacitative mesh) is used as...

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such as glass or plastic, into the desired lens shape. This process involves...

Process that occurs when a polymerized soft plastic rod with higher refractive index is placed in a bath of a lower refractive-index monomer to obtain plastic fibers with a nearly parabolic index...

An adhesive used to hold optical components in their mounts. It may be a thermoplastic or chemical-hardening substance.

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...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical filters are used to control the spectral content of light in various...

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...

Laser-powered telephone device for analog communications that employs a vibrating plastic membrane as a transmitter to modulate laser light piped via optical fibers from a central exchange, omitting...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and its manifestation as both particle and wave phenomena. It encompasses the...

A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed transparencies is provided with either an elliptical mirror or a plastic Fresnel lens...

A thin, stretched plastic membrane cemented to a rigid supporting ring. It may be coated to act as a beamsplitter, for example, in a color camera; it is so thin that no perceptible image doubling...

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...

In optics, the double refraction that is produced when stress is applied to a transparent material. Plastics, which are especially photoelastic, can be formed into models of structures that are...

A holographic plate coated by photopolymeric mixtures that are composed of one or more monomers and a photoredox catalyst sensitized to visible light. The material becomes a plastic solid when...

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

Fiber in which both core and cladding are made of plastic.

The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to glass-clad fibers to reduce microbend loss and increase mechanical protection.

A lens made from transparent plastic material. Lenses over 31/2 in. in diameter are usually machined, ground and polished. Smaller lenses are usually injection molded, the mount surrounding the lens...

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate. Unlike traditional glass optical fibers, which are made...

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...

Polishing with a plastic pad.

An optical waveguide having a silica core and a plastic cladding.

A filter that polarizes light passing through it. It is possible to fabricate sheets of plastic or gelatin that contain birefringent crystals so oriented as to pass only polarized light. Such sheets...

A mold for glass or plastics often made of stainless steel to prevent pitting or oxidation in service. It is polished to the opposite curve of the surface that will be molded, and may be spherical or...

A tough, durable, heat- and cold-resistant optical quality plastic used in injection-molded items such as streetlight lenses, automotive taillights and audio compact discs.

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded together to form long chains or networks, creating a macromolecular...

A plastic used in molded optical components. Styrene elements can be combined with acrylic elements to produce achromatic lenses.

A thermoplastic, self-extinguishing polymer with excellent high-temperature, low-creep and arc resistance properties.

A process that employs heat to remove polyimide plastic coatings from silica optical fibers and capillary tubing.

A reproduction made of an original grating -- usually by casting thermosetting plastics onto the original -- to avoid the high expense of making the original gratings.

The formation of a block by attaching optical elements to a plate with a ring of pitch or other thermoplastic material.

Thin layers intended to prevent damage to plastic optics.

A projection screen having vertical ribs or flutes set into a plastic surface.

A sheet of plastic material containing microscopic crystals of herapathite or some other similar substance that transmits light polarized in one direction, but absorbs light polarized in a...

A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various fields, such as electronics, biology, chemistry, and manufacturing, the term...

An adhesive whose viscosity decreases as the temperature is increased to a limit. Canada balsam, resin and pitch are examples of thermoplastic cements.

A material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables.

A type of holographic film widely used for industrial applications because it is inexpensive and erasable.

A display device having a thermoplastic film as the control layer medium. The film, moving from a playoff reel, is scanned by an electron gun and melted by an RF heating unit. Deformation of the film...