Photonics Dictionary: W

A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to capture a broader field of view. Wide-angle lenses are characterized by their...

A type of radial gradient lens that can focus light even though its surfaces are flat.

In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a semiconducting material, usually crystalline silicon. Wafers serve as the...

The frequency of a wave divided by its velocity of propagation; the reciprocal of the wavelength.

Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its propagation. To exploit the wave phenomena of light, one must interact light...

For each mode in an optical waveguide, the term used to describe the process by which an electromagnetic signal is distorted by virtue of the dependence of the phase and group velocities on...

A system that allows the transmission of more than one signal over a common path, by assigning each signal a different frequency band. Also known as frequency division multiplexing.

A device that measures the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave.

A beamsplitting mirror that reflects as a function of wavelength.

A photofluorescent compound that, when used with a scintillating substance, absorbs photons and emits related photons having a greater wavelength. In this way a phototube or photocell may employ the...

Electromagnetic energy is transmitted in the form of a sinusoidal wave. The wavelength is the physical distance covered by one cycle of this wave; it is inversely proportional to frequency.

A method of specifying the allowable edge-thickness difference or decentering of a lens.

The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for obtaining high-quality diffraction patterns from single crystals. This...

A well plate, also known as a microplate or microtiter plate, is a flat plate with multiple small wells or depressions arranged in a grid pattern. Each well serves as a separate container for holding...

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or sound waves, are trapped and circulate along the periphery of a curved...

A common aberration in lenses covering large fields of view; it results in images of objects near the edge of the field being compressed in the radial distortion.

Wide-field fluorescence microscopy uses either naturally occurring structures or staining with fluorescent tags that are activated by specific wavelengths of light and then emits a different...

The formula that gives the wavelength of maximum spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody: λmax = 2898/T(µm) The radiation at this λmax can be calculated as follows:...

The maximum aperture of a lens at which it will still give a sharp image, even though its physical aperture may be larger.

In microscopy, the clear distance between the specimen being viewed and the first optical element of the objective lens.