Photonics Dictionary: P

Characteristic of optical analyses that are limited to infinitesimally small apertures. Also called first-order or Gaussian optics.

In astronomy, the main lobe of an antenna pattern that has a small angular extent in two mutually perpendicular directions. Invisible in space, it would resemble a searchlight beam.

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a cubic arrangement of oxygen ions, forming a framework within which other...

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical quantity. In such sensors, variations in the phase of the signal are...

Very small phosphor particles present on the screen of a picture tube.

The use of photoetching techniques to produce small tools, parts and dies from sheet metal.

Spectroscopy used to study the concentration, diffusion and Brownian motion of small particles suspended in a fluid by measuring dynamic fluctuations of light that is scattered or fluoresced by the...

A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric microstructures, such as microspheres or microcylinders. This phenomenon arises due...

A small section of the surface of a sensor corresponding to a single pixel in the image.

A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term "photovoltaic" is derived from the words "photo," meaning light, and...

An interferometric technique for the generation of precision gratings that allows for sequential exposure of small segments in the writing of a large grating, allowing increased intensity that...

A lensless photographic camera that uses a small sharp-edged hole as its aperture. The light passed by this aperture onto the camera's film plane produces a soft-edged image that has a wide field of...

A type of eyepiece, or the modification of an eyepiece, in which a small hole, without a lens, functions as the eye lens; used in the adjustment and alignment of microscopes.

Pixel pitch refers to the distance between the centers of two adjacent pixels on a display screen or imaging sensor. It is typically measured in millimeters and is a crucial specification in...

A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a fundamental unit that represents a single point in a raster image, which is a grid of...

An instrument designed to give precise and rapid detection of changes in tumor growth as well as the location of small tumors by providing a three-dimensional picture of the tissue.

A manufacturing process used to construct substrates for large optical components. Used with IR materials, planform bonding permits the joining of several smaller pieces to be used in place of a...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...

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...

1. With respect to angular subtense, a source of light, such as a star, that is very small. In a lab, a point source may be simulated by imaging a large source onto and through a pinhole, or by...

A lamp, usually incandescent, that has a very compact filament, permitting a greater concentration of emitted light, aided by the use of small apertures and appropriate reflectors.

The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. It characterizes how a single point of light is...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through a series of temperature-controlled cycles....

Process of synthesizing long molecular chain materials (polymers) by reaction of many small molecules (usually thousands) called monomers.

A device used to project a small area of light on a screen for indication.

The underexposure caused by the diffraction of light passing through small openings spaced closely together in masks used in photolithography.

The compression and intensification of a laser pulse of a specific width into a smaller pulse width. A spherical cavity, in conjunction with a beam compressor, is efficient for pulse amplification....