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116 terms

Photonics Dictionary: M

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meso form
A form of an element that cannot demonstrate optical activity as a result of dextrogyrate and levogyrate effects that are balanced contrary to each other in a structure. In essence, meso form...
Mach bands
The illusory appearance of a light or dark band at a line of brightness contrast that enhances the edge between the two contrasting regions. This effect can create the appearance of graduated...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to improve their performance on a specific...
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....
machine vision lighting
Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision, which is a technology that enables machines to capture and interpret visual...
machine vision system
A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...
machine vision
Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically computers, to interpret and understand visual information from the world,...
macrophotograph
The photographic recordformed in macrophotography in which the size of the small nearby object at theimage plane is the same size or greater than the actual life size of theobject.
macula lutea
The small central portion of the human retina that is responsible for providing the clearest, and most distinct aspects of human vision. Light from an object directly forms an image on the macula...
magnetic bubble film
An amorphous film in which cylindrical bubbles of reverse magnetization can be formed to follow circuit paths usually made by depositing magnetic metal strips on the film surface. It is used in...
magnetic vector
A term denoting the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field associated with an electromagnetic wave when describing light in its vector form.
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective excitation of the spins of electrons in a magnetic solid, analogous to the...
major
A blank to which a piece of glass of a different refractive index will be fused to form a multifocal lens.
Manufacturing Automation Protocol
A computerized token-passing local area network (LAN) configuration adopted by General Motors for real time control over the mediation of interconnected devices from multiple manufacturers over the...
Marx effect
The decrease in the energy of a photoelectric emission as a result of the simultaneous incidence of radiation having lower frequency than that forming the emission.
masks for evaporation/deposition
In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...
matched filter
A filter that maximizes signal-to-noise ratio so that a waveform of known shape can be separated from random noise.
matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
Process of analysis in which the analyte substance is distributed in a matrix before laser desorption. This method avoids the mass limitations associated with laser desorption and possibly enhances...
matrix-controlled display
A display that is formed in an X-Y manner; i.e., two inputs allow control of X2 elements.
Mb
megabit — The megabit (also expressed as Mbit) is equivalent to one million (or 106) of the standard unit for digital information storage in telecommunications which is the bit.
MB
megabyte — The megabyte (also expressed as Mbyte) is equivalent to one million (106) of the standard unit for digital information storage in computing which is the byte.
MB/s
megabytes per second — The megabyte per second (not to be mixed up with the Mb/s -- megabits per second) is a unit of data transfer rate equivalent to one million (106) bytes per second over a given information network.
Mb/s
megabits per second — The megabit per second (not to be mixed up with the mbit/s – millibit per second, or Mbitps- megabit picosecond) is a unit of data transfer rate equivalent to one million (or 106) bits per second over a given information network.
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used for various medical applications. These lasers emit light in the form of...
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...
mercury arc
An electric arc that is formed in mercury vapor through which an electric current flows. The intensity of the illumination of the arc depends mostly on its design and the conditions under which it...
merit function -> error function
A single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known as merit function and defect function, the error function comprises...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...
metabolic imaging
Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or cells using various imaging techniques. It provides insights into the...
metabolite
A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living organisms to maintain life. Metabolites can include a wide variety of molecules,...
metal arc
The electrical arc formed between metal rods that emits the spectrum of the metal itself. Commonly used in the chemical analysis of metals.
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...
metallorganic chemical vapor deposition
A method of growing single crystals in which atoms and molecules from gaseous organic compounds interact and form a layer on a single-crystal substrate.
metallorganic vapor phase epitaxy -> metallorganic chemical vapor deposition
A method of growing single crystals in which atoms and molecules from gaseous organic compounds interact and form a layer on a single-crystal substrate.
metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These materials are designed to manipulate electromagnetic waves in ways that are not...
metascope
A sensing or image-forming detector that serves to convert infrared rays into visible signals for communication purposes. Also, a form of telescope that generates visible images on a fluorescent...
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...
metaverse
The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and persistent virtual worlds. It is a concept derived from science...
metric photography
The photographic recording of objects or events in a manner that allows quantitative information to be derived from the photograph. An example is the film made by a cinetheodolite in photographing a...
metrology
Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement, including the development of measurement standards, techniques, and...
Michelson-Morley experiment
An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by physicists to explain how light could travel in a wave motion through...
micro-LED
Micro-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to create displays and lighting systems. These LEDs are miniature versions of...
micro-optical coherence tomography
Micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT) is an imaging technique that is an adaptation of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to achieve high-resolution, cross-sectional imaging of biological...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...
micro-ring resonator
A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped waveguide structure to selectively enhance or filter certain wavelengths of...
micro-robotics
Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic systems, often at the microscale. These robots, commonly referred to as...
microbend-modulated sensor
A type of fiber optic sensor that detects changes in pressure, vibration, sound level or acceleration by monitoring the ejection of light from the fiber core to the cladding caused by microbending...

Photonics DictionaryM


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