Photonics Dictionary: C

The apparent difference in brightness between light and dark areas of an image. For a light target against a dark background, contrast is computed as follows: where Lt is the luminance of the...

With respect to television, a potentiometer that allows variation of the intensity of the different elements of an image and that can be used to accentuate the highlights and shadows in an image. In...

A filter designed to improve contrast in an imaging system. For visual and black and white photosystems, a yellow filter is used.

One area of image enhancement, accomplished by spatial filtering schemes, that usually involves attenuation of phase changes in the complex amplitude over a limited region of the Fourier spectrum of...

That contrast level that exists between two areas whose difference in brightness is just perceivable.

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...

A semiconductor made up of two or more elements, in contrast to those composed of a single element such as germanium or silicon. In a III-V semiconductor, for example, one or more elements having...

A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture in front of the illumination source and the other at the focal position in...

Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In various contexts, the term is used to describe continuous, uninterrupted...

A coverslip, also known as a cover glass or cover slip, is a thin and flat piece of transparent material typically made of glass or plastic. It is used in microscopy to cover a specimen mounted on a...