Photonics Dictionary: I

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a method for detecting antigens or haptens in cells of a tissue section by using labeled antibodies to bind specifically to their antigens. IHC is used for disease...

A thermistor that uses a semiconductor that is sensitive to infrared radiation to measure the radiation's intensity.

The photoemission that would occur if a crystal were pure and its structure perfect.

The ejecting of ions from the surface of a material.

An instrument in which an object's image, produced by a lens of known focal length, is used to determine the object's distance from the instrument when its size is known, or the object's size if the...

A camera tube that employs a high-velocity electron beam to scan a photoemissive mosaic and to store electrical charge patterns.

A system that transmits and receives identification codes to facilitate the discrimination between enemy and friend in a tactical situation.

In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from group III and group V of the periodic table. More specifically, these...

Luminous flux incident per unit area of a surface; luminous incidence. (The use of the term "illumination" for this quantity conflicts with its more general meaning.)

Source of radiation defined or specified by its spectral power distribution.

Metamerism that occurs when the light source is changed.

Characteristic of a surface or object that has luminous flux incident upon it.

A magnifying lens fitted with a battery-operated lamp by which an object can be conveniently illuminated during observation.

A desklike apparatus with an opal glass surface illuminated from beneath by fluorescent tubes. It is equipped with roll holders for aerial films and a low-power microscope or some form of...

The general term for the application of light to a subject. It should not be used in place of the specific quantity illuminance.

Generally, the orientation of rays of light striking a surface.

A photometric instrument used to measure the illumination falling on a surface. It may be photoelectric or visual.

In optics, an image is the reconstruction of light rays from a source or object when light from that source or object is passed through a system of optics and onto an image forming plane. Light rays...

An electro-optic system using, in general form, an evacuated glass envelope with a semitransparent photocathode at one end and a luminescent screen at the other for the amplification of an optical...

The apparent luminance of the image as seen through an optical system. This brightness of the image is determined by the brightness of the object, as well as the transmittance and etendue - or light...

A method used in imaging to detect subtle differences between two apparently similar pictures. It can be achieved by superimposing the negative of one photograph over a contact print of another, by...

Also referred to as image visibility, the contrast of an image is the variation in the intensity of an image formed by an optical system, where the image pixels are defined on a gray scale scheme of...

An electron tube that employs electromagnetic radiation to produce a visual replica of an image produced on its cathode. Electrons ejected from the cathode by the incident radiation are accelerated...

An electron tube that is used as a camera tube for a television system. When the picture to be transmitted is focused on a photosensitive surface, electrons are emitted from each section of the...

A semiconductor platelet laser that emits a coherent image by means of plane optical pumping over the platelet surface, and that uses laser threshold characteristics to produce a pronounced threshold...

A camera tube similar in design to the iconoscope. However, the image formed in the image iconoscope is projected on a photocathode that emits photoelectrons to be focused on a material, forming the...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized electronic device used to amplify low-light-level images to make them visible to...

In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs in the optical system. This phenomenon is often observed in certain types of...

Any form of lens, optical system (camera, telescope, microscope, etc.), or opto-electronics utilized for the purpose of producing an image of a given object.

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 device embodying a microprocessor that converts an image to digital form and then further enhances the image to prepare it for computer or visual analysis.

A type of electroluminescent display that will record and maintain an irradiated image on its phosphor screen, provided a DC potential is applied to the screen. Used to record x-ray images, the...

An eyepiece having a special prism arrangement linked to a micrometer screw to allow reading of the angular relations between the two prism segments to be varied. When the prism faces are parallel,...

A modified form of an image-retaining panel that can be used in subdued daylight. This is achieved by adding a layer of zinc oxide between the panel's phosphor layer and its rear electrode. The zinc...

Any arrangement of a bundle of optical fibers that alters the shape of the image. For example, by systematic regulation of the spacing of the fibers from the entrance end to the exit end, a...

The science of producing, recording, storing, transmitting and displaying visual images by any system (photographic, video, facsimile, etc.) in any form.

A thermoplastic or thermosetting material used to hold an object fixed and keep it from deterioration. In microcircuitry, the process of imbedding is known as potting.

An alien, electrically charged atomic system in a solid; an ion substituted for the constituent atom or ion in a crystal lattice, or located in an interstitial site in the crystal.

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

That state determining that two waves of like frequency will travel through their maximum and minimum values of the same polarity simultaneously.

In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it refers to experiments or observations conducted within a living...

The emission of light by thermal radiation of a temperature high enough to render the source of radiation visible.

A lamp that emits light when an electric current passes through a resistant metallic wire situated in a vacuum tube.