Photonics Dictionary: M

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...

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...

A thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of spherical aberration.

A catadioptric lens assembly consisting of a Maksutov corrector and a spherical primary mirror.

A double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens and second rear surface is a spherical mirror. This combination utilizes...

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...

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...

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...

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-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...

A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed during exposure, and one in which the film is exposed while moving past an...

Output noise in a laser beam resulting from acoustic disturbances of mirror separation or orientation. Such disturbances may come either from the plasma or from vibration of external sources.

A smooth, highly polished surface, for reflecting light, that may be plane or curved if wanting to focus and or magnify the image formed by the mirror. The actual reflecting surface is usually a thin...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly curved piece of glass or other substrate that serves as the starting point for...

One or more thin-film layers of optical material deposited on a mirror blank/substrate in order to enhance the way that substrate reflects light. For example of optical materials/optical coatings...

An image-forming system having curved mirrors in place of transparent glass components. Mirror lenses are commonly used for astronomical purposes as well as cheap solutions for very long focal length...

A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are essential components in optical setups for reflecting light or redirecting laser...

The observation and measurement of the flatness of a mirror surface by contacting an optical flat with the mirror. The process generally is done before coating so as not to damage the delicate coated...

A large telescope mirror fabricated from several smaller sections.

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...

A camera that uses a rotating mirror to project sequential images onto lenses that are arranged in an arc. The reflected images can then be recorded on stationary film. By using an 8-mm frame format,...

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...