Photonics Dictionary: C

A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference beams so that, by suitable orientation of an anisotropic crystal, the optical...

The surface of an element of a compound lens that will produce the cemented interface. The curves of this interface are called inside curves. To facilitate cementing, the two inside curves should...

An interferometer formed by two similar concave spherical mirrors arranged with the center of one sphere on the other mirror. In this instrument the field is more concentrated by the axis of the...

The curved boundary between two optical media of different refractive indices, which causes convergence.

A standard lens interface initially made for 16mm movie cameras and now used primarily on closed-circuit television cameras. It is a 1-in.-diameter, 32-thread-per-inch interface with a...

The storage surface of an electron beam tube that is scanned by an electron beam to generate an output-signal current corresponding to the charge-density pattern stored.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

A lens, one surface being a cartesian oval, that produces an aplanatic condition.

A surface heat-treating process that produces a highly stressed surface. In case-hardening of glass, a plate of glass is heated almost to the softening point and then cooled quickly in a blast of...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and mirrors vary from system to system, the use of the reflective surfaces to...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...

Light that is directed or focused by means of curved reflective surfaces.

An optical system in which the only image-forming elements are curved-surface mirrors; e.g., a Cassegrain lens system.

A surface that envelops a bundle of rays or bundle of normals to the wave surface. It may be observed as a hollow, luminous cusp in a turbid medium.

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

The center of the sphere of which the surface of a lens or mirror forms a portion. Each curved surface of a lens has a center of curvature; the surfaces may be convex or concave.

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

The surface curvature designed to reduce the marginal error found in the periphery of a spectacle lens.

A lens system in which the centers of curvature of all surfaces fall on a common axis.

In a perfectly centered lens, the mechanical axis (defined by the ground outside the diameter of the lens) is made to be exactly coincident with the optical axis (defined by a line through the...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

The binding of gas to a surface or in matter by chemical activity.

1. A localized fracture at the end of a cleaved optical fiber or on a glass surface. 2. An integrated circuit.

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...

The mark formed when the movement of the lens over the face of the centering chuck abrades the surface.

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

Cinematography performed with the use of a microscope to film the actions of microscopic specimens.

An optical interference coating, vacuum-deposited on a circular substrate, whose transmission characteristics may be varied by physical rotation.

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...

A ray that is reflected into the core of an optical fiber from the outer surface of the cladding.

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an individual component. Also known as free aperture or objective aperture. The...

In a visual optical system, the axial distance from the last mechanical surface of the eyepiece to the exit pupil.

Also called shining. Grinding and polishing one surface of a blank to permit a more thorough examination for quality.

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

A method of improving the signal-to-noise ratio of an interferogram by adding another interferogram to it.

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...

A jet of inert gas along a laser welding beam's axis that cools, protects or cleans the work surface.

CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision and industrial imaging applications. It enables high-speed data...