Photonics Dictionary: D

The transmission of light by a condenser to observe either very small particles or very fine lines with a microscope.

A tank with a boiling solvent at the bottom and a ring of cold piping higher up that condenses the liquid and returns it to the bottom. Objects such as lenses or small metal parts to be cleaned are...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

A telescope that corrects dispersion and spherical aberration through the use of one or more lenses, usually smaller than the objective lens, that are positioned at a distance from the objective lens.

A tool made by imbedding small particles of diamond in the working edge. In the optical field, the most commonly used diamond tools are glass saws, cup-shaped tools for curve generators, and diamond...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

Use of a photoelectric receiver to sense an object's presence by detecting a small amount of the emitter's light that is diffusely reflected by the object.

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

A small handheld instrument consisting of a slit and collimator that feeds light into a small direct-vision dispersing prism. The eye is placed behind the prism to observe the spectrum of a colored...

A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion, which is the phenomenon where different wavelengths of light travel at...

A display format consisting of small light-emitting elements arranged as a two-dimensional array. Various elements are energized to depict a character. The typical matrix is 5 x 7 dots.

The formation of an interferogram by means of two holograms on the same recording medium, often used for determining small changes in an object. One hologram produces a primary image that constitutes...

A type of mosaic detector array that combines features of scanning and staring sensors by using a small rapid scanning motion (see saccadic motion) over a few pixels at a time.