Photonics Dictionary

In fiber optic communications, a light source whose beam can be modulated and sent along an optical fiber, and the electronics that support it.

The central wavelength range of a transmitter based on the worst-case scenarios of temperature, manufacturing and other variations.

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to remote receivers. The video and audio components are transmitted...

A receiver for optical communications systems consisting of a symmetric binary, pulse-code-modulated transmitter, a log-normal channel and an array of independent photocounting detectors that yield...

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems. These indicators are commonly used in various fields, including cell...

The term sometimes used to describe the sequential arrangement of components in a video system -- from transmitter to receiver.

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...

Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a device that can be connected and disconnected repeatedly.

A coupling unit that enables more than one transmitter to operate at the same time or separately on the same antenna.

A signal traveling from transmitter to receiver that has an altered frequency due to the Doppler effect.

In data communications, the simultaneous operation of a circuit in both directions is known as full duplex; if only one transmitter can send at a time, the system is called half duplex.

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...

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...

A device used to transmit and receive images that have been converted to electrical signals over regular telephone lines; it includes a scanner, a transmitter, a receiver and a printer.

A waveguide or coaxial cable that transmits a signal from an antenna to a receiver or from a transmitter to an antenna.

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...

A device that permits the adjustment of facsimile transmitters and recorders so that their scanning lines stop and start at the same place in relation to the subject copy.

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...

A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A photosensitive film sometimes called the photocathode. The scene to be...

A graphic depiction of the loci of all points in space relative to a laser transmitter at a specific altitude.

1. In relation to cathode-ray tube displays, errors in the signal's amplitude, phase or both that result in small, rapid aberrations in size or position of the image. 2. Errors of synchronization...

In data communications, the instrumentation connecting two stations: transmitters, receivers and the cable that runs between them.

A phenomenon, exploited for medical imaging, in which the nuclei of material placed in a strong magnetic field will absorb radio waves supplied by a transmitter at particular frequencies. The energy...

A glow discharge tube placed on an insulating rod to detect the presence of high-frequency radiation in the vicinity of a transmitter. The tube indicates the presence of the radiation by the glow...

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...

Photoconductive antenna (PCA) is a semiconductor element that generates or detects high-frequency electromagnetic signals. Compact PCAs based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) or indium gallium arsenide...

A receiver-transmitter device that automatically transmits a signal when the proper interrogating signal is received.