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32 terms
Photonics Dictionary: B
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backreflection
->
narcissus
A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into a detector. It can be reduced by low-reflective coatings or by altering the...
beam deflection tube
An electron-beam tube in which the current to an output electrode is regulated by the transverse motion of the tube's electron beam.
bidirectional reflectance distribution function
Unified notation for specification of reflectance in terms of both incident- and reflected-beam geometry; i.e., the ratio of reflected radiance in direction toward the viewer to the irradiance in...
bistatic reflectivity
Characteristic of a reflector that reflects light along a different line or lines than that of the incident ray.
back-coated mirror
A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.
back-surface mirror
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back-coated mirror
A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.
backlit
Refers to a display or screen that is illuminated from behind; the light is transmitted as opposed to reflected.
backscatter
Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the incident beam. This occurs when the incident radiation encounters a target or...
barcode scanner
An optical scanning device designed to read information printed in the form of bars of different size by detection and processing of the varying reflectivity of light in the barcode.
BBAR
broadband antireflection
beam divider
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beamsplitter
A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....
beam table
Laser light show effects equipment including optics and mechanical devices that reflect, position or distort the laser beam, but not including the laser itself.
beamsplitter
A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...
bistability
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optical bistability
The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...
blackbody simulator
A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical, made of an opaque material and insulated from thermal effects, with a small...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...
blacking
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optical blacking
A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...
blaze wavelength
The light wavelength for which the direction of reflectance from the groove face is identical to the angle of diffraction for a specified angle of incidence.
Brace prism
A compound prism composed of two 30° prisms, one of which is partially coated with a suitable opaque metal of high reflecting power. The prisms are cemented with Canada balsam so that the coated...
Bragg angle
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Bragg scattering
The scattering of x-rays by the regularly spaced atoms in a crystal. The angle at which the reflection occurs is known as the Bragg angle.
Bragg method of crystal analysis
A technique in which a beam of x-rays is directed against a crystal, the atoms of which, because of their lattice arrangement, reflect the ray in the same way as a series of plane surfaces. If the...
Bragg scattering
The scattering of x-rays by the regularly spaced atoms in a crystal. The angle at which the reflection occurs is known as the Bragg angle.
Bragg spectrometer
->
ionization spectrometer
Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...
Bragg's law
The law expressing the condition under which a crystal will reflect a beam of x-rays with the greatest amount of distinction or resolution and, at the same time, denoting the angle at which the...
BRDF
bidirectional reflectance distribution function
Brewster angle window
A parallel plate of glass in such a position that the refracted and reflected rays of incident parallel light are mutually perpendicular. In this situation the reflected light is plane polarized, and...
Brewster's angle
For light incident on a plane boundary between two regions having different refractive indices, the angle of incidence at which the reflectance is zero for light that has its electrical field vector...
Brewster's fringes
The fringes used in the Jamin interferometer and produced by light that has been internally and externally reflected by two plane-parallel plates, inclined toward each other at a small angle.
broadband dielectric mirrors
Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...
Photonics Dictionary
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