Photonics Dictionary: P

Fiber in which both core and cladding are made of plastic.

The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to glass-clad fibers to reduce microbend loss and increase mechanical protection.

A lens made from transparent plastic material. Lenses over 31/2 in. in diameter are usually machined, ground and polished. Smaller lenses are usually injection molded, the mount surrounding the lens...

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate. Unlike traditional glass optical fibers, which are made...

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...

Polishing with a plastic pad.

An optical waveguide having a silica core and a plastic cladding.

A thin, stretched plastic membrane cemented to a rigid supporting ring. It may be coated to act as a beamsplitter, for example, in a color camera; it is so thin that no perceptible image doubling...

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze stress distribution and behavior in materials. photoelastic equipment...

In optics, the double refraction that is produced when stress is applied to a transparent material. Plastics, which are especially photoelastic, can be formed into models of structures that are...

A holographic plate coated by photopolymeric mixtures that are composed of one or more monomers and a photoredox catalyst sensitized to visible light. The material becomes a plastic solid when...

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

A filter that polarizes light passing through it. It is possible to fabricate sheets of plastic or gelatin that contain birefringent crystals so oriented as to pass only polarized light. Such sheets...

A mold for glass or plastics often made of stainless steel to prevent pitting or oxidation in service. It is polished to the opposite curve of the surface that will be molded, and may be spherical or...

A tough, durable, heat- and cold-resistant optical quality plastic used in injection-molded items such as streetlight lenses, automotive taillights and audio compact discs.

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded together to form long chains or networks, creating a macromolecular...

A plastic used in molded optical components. Styrene elements can be combined with acrylic elements to produce achromatic lenses.

A thermoplastic, self-extinguishing polymer with excellent high-temperature, low-creep and arc resistance properties.

A process that employs heat to remove polyimide plastic coatings from silica optical fibers and capillary tubing.