Photonics Dictionary

A closely spaced series of well-known chemicals having a refractive index lying between 1.33 for water and 1.95 for a solution of phosphorus in carbon disulfide. They are used to identify powdered...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...

The monochromatic transparency effect produced by the immersion of a finely powdered substance (e.g., glass or quartz) into a liquid with a similar refractive index.

A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion; used to isolate narrow spectral regions.

A liquid, usually of a specific refractive index and dispersion, serving as an interface between two solids to form a complete light transmission system.

Term synonymous with refractive index liquid, but related more to tank or chamber immersion of crystals, fibers, lenses, photoelastic models, etc.

A material, often a liquid or cement, whose refractive index is nearly equal to the fiber's core index, used to reduce Fresnel reflection from a fiber end face.

An optical fiber with a hollow core filled with a liquid material that has a higher refractive index than the solid surrounding it.

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 form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...

An instrument used to measure the refractive index of solids and liquids. Several types exist, the most common being the Abbe refractometer.