Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance, quality, and characteristics of lenses. These instruments are essential for ensuring that lenses meet specific standards,...

A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed...

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing...

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...

A Pockels cell, also known as an electro-optic modulator, is an optical device used to control the polarization of light by...

A variation in propagation delay caused by differences in group velocity among modes of an optical fiber. Also called...

A birefringent crystal having two axes along which there is an absence of double refraction. Mica, sulphur and turquoise are...

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the...

Also known as UV-VIS spectrometer, a device that measures the absorbance, reflectance or transmittance of light in the...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....

A radiometric device or system having uniform responsivity relative to all of the radiation parameters, or relative to one...

The total scattering attributable to the intrinsic properties of the materials through which an optical wave is propagating.

A panel of photoconductive and electroluminescent layers used as either a positive or negative image intensifier, depending...

Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic...

Optical fiber that transmits a greater percentage of input light than does high-loss step-index fiber. Low-loss fiber...

Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and...

A method of creating real three-dimensional models by using lasers driven by CAD software. In contrast to the normal...

A prism resembling a Nicol prism but having faces normal to the axis and the two parts divided by a glycerine film. Also...

A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater...

A device used to investigate the dichroism of crystals.

The principle that a light ray extending from one point to another will, after any number of reflections and refractions,...

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that belongs to the powder bed...

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...

The formula describing the spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody as a function of its temperature and the...

The smallest object that may be seen, measured in terms of the angle subtended by the object measured at the eye. Also...

A device used to scan, with a small, intensely bright spot, portions of a picture surface and to transform the original...

The computer module whose circuitry interprets instructions and guides the actions of the peripherals. Also known as the...

Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic...

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of...

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded...

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...

A device that enlarges and strengthens a signal's output without significantly distorting its original waveshape. There are...

A defect of natural quartz crystals in which both the right and left quartz are in the same crystal.

A broken circle used as the test object in distinguishing visual acuity. The width of the gap in the circle is equal to the...

Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its...

A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...

A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can...

A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and...

The branch of optics that deals with the study of the refraction of light, particularly by the transmitting medium of the...

Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1...

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...

A sheet of plastic material containing microscopic crystals of herapathite or some other similar substance that transmits...

The Golgi staining technique (also called the black reaction) makes it possible to look at the nervous system by rendering...

Referring to compound semiconductor materials combining one element that has three valence electrons with one or more that...

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and...

A secondary halo whose movement counterpoints the behavior of the Becke line.

The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation...

In chemistry, a halide refers to a chemical compound containing one or more halogen atoms bonded to another element. The...

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...

A wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane...

Also known as ground level. The lowest energy level of an atom or atomic system. A material in the ground state is not...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to...

A group of photosensors arranged in a grid-like pattern covering the entire field of view, enabling them to record it all at...

That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a...

The angle formed between a refracted ray and the normal to the surface. This angle lies in a common plane with the angle of...

A mechanical or electrical-electromagnetic device for periodically interrupting or blocking abeam of light for a brief known...

An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic...

With respect to the effect of crystals on lightwaves, the family of curves having constant direction of polarization.

A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...

A spectral signature, in the context of remote sensing and spectroscopy, refers to the unique pattern or characteristic...

Abbreviation of "synchronization.'' In television, the timing signals used to drive the scanning process. Horizontal...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms,...

Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...

A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind)...

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric)...

Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive...

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate...

Rayleigh scattering is a phenomenon that occurs when light waves interact with particles or molecules that are much smaller...

The angle at which photoelectric sensors are aligned to prevent light from being reflected back to the sensor from the...

The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...

1. To center an image or place it in any part of the television screen desired. Also applies to stills. 2. A single image of...

A system that allows the transmission of more than one signal over a common path, by assigning each signal a different...

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film...

Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge...

Familiar term for CD/I disc. The CD/I standard also is known as the green standard.

An area in which airborne particulates can be monitored and controlled so that given size particles do not exceed a...

In optics, the total radiant energy incident on a surface-per-unit area. It is equal to the integral over time of the...

The measurable leakage of optical energy from one optical conductor to another. Also known as optical coupling.

Refers to the characteristic hue of the ocean according to the presence and concentration of specific minerals or...

A spheric lens, also known as a spherical lens, is a type of optical lens with at least one surface that is part of a...

The phenomenon in which alkali metals are transparent to ultraviolet radiation.

Primarily the measurement of photographic sensitivity of certain materials such as photographic film. It refers to the...

An artificial material, engineered to have a negative refractive index value, such that light or any other form of...

The alignment process that makes the optical axes of two related systems parallel to each other. Also, making the optical...

FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of...

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...

In a communications network, a point at which data are received or from which they are sent. Though the term often is used...

A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative...

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...

The analysis, by x-rays, of the crystalline structure and other properties of metals and alloys.

A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual...

Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...

A probe card is a testing device used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to evaluate and test the electrical...

A device that enables visual tracing of a fiber optic cable to check for breaks and defects by coupling visible light into...

Also known as clear glass or clear filter. The clear glass plate is used to simulate a filter, in converging or diverging...

A single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known...

The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols,...

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It...

A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in...

Also known as mesosphere. A level of the atmosphere, extending from the stratosphere to the ionosphere, that is noted for...

Transparent glassy and or crystalline structured materials engineered from inorganic, non-metallic materials via various...

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the...

An electron tube whose electrical characteristics will not be affected by gaseous ionization because of its high degree of...

The soft x-rays used in the industrial radiography of materials having too small a range of densities to produce an image...

The analysis of retinal zones in which different hues can be detected. Also called campimetry.

Lens aberration resulting in image size variation as a function of wavelength. See also chromatic aberration.

A polarizer that consists of dichroic polarizing material embedded in a plastic sheet, and that transmits light that is...

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based...

An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the...

The process of mapping the infrared emittance of an area through the use of an infrared detector and related scanning...

A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body and indicating its center; a line so positioned that various...

Method for studying absorption coefficients of low-loss materials, in which a sample is allowed to come to thermal...

An accelerator at the Argonne National Laboratory, providing powerful x-ray beams for materials research applications.

An electric cell having two electrodes of unlike metals immersed in a solution that chemically affects one or both of them,...

A type of filter consisting of a series of birefringent crystals and polarizers invented by French astronomer Bernard Lyot...

In television system specifications, the number of parallel horizontal black and white lines of equal thickness, that can be...

Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to...

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

The transition boundary between P-type and N-type materials in a semiconductor.

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an...

A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic...

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...

Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...

Entirely analogous to color photography, but inclusive of light bands that do not appear in the visible spectrum.

Also known as a shadow mask, a perforated plate placed between the focusing and accelerating electrodes, and the tricolor...

A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate...

The analysis of the atomic structures within crystals by means of x-ray diffraction.

A phase screen, in the context of optics and wave optics, refers to a surface or medium that introduces a phase delay to an...

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....

Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry...

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device...

Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically...

An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other...

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds,...

An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet...

Imaging materials that generally consist of a polyester base, a transparent electrically conductive layer and an organic...

A nondestructive test, also referred to as LASAT, that uses a high-energy laser pulse that is targeted on an adhesively...

The technology of manipulating light on a micro scale. In optical communications, this is usually accomplished using two or...

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...

A wave in which energy is focused near a boundary separating materials having different properties. Propagation of the wave...

A mode of transmission whereby the sending and receiving stations operate continuously at a fixed relationship of phase and...

A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of...

In the context of imaging, particularly digital imaging and printing, "orange peel" refers to a texture or visual distortion...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture...

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create...

The simulation of solar radiation in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum for the analysis of extraterrestrial sunlight and...

Technology that relies on a highly efficient photodetector that can detect incoming light signals at one frequency and...

An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...

Optic surface cleaning liquid that may be applied to glass, crystal, dielectric and metal surfaces; however, may not be...

LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to...

An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...

In dry etching, a method of characterizing the composition of solid materials such as metal. Atoms in the OES technique are...

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to...

A unique glass made up of nano-structured materials to create millimeter sized monolithic glass space-variant polarization...

An angle formed by the lines of sight of both eyes when focusing on an object. Also, the rate at which a ray approaches the...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...

Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The...

Data or encoded information capable of being eradicated, leaving the media free for rewriting. Also called reversible.

Radiation emitted from vibrating charged particles. A combination of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that...

A pathogen is a biological agent, such as a virus, bacterium, fungus, protozoan, or parasite, that causes disease in its...

A bright spot or point, due to Fresnel diffraction, that appears at the center of the shadow of a circular object in light...

Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the...

In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the...

Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but...

Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in...

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new...

A pattern on an oscilloscope display that consists of a string of shapes that resemble eyes. Because the pattern becomes...

1. Attribute of a visual sensation that permits a judgment to be made of the amount of pure chromatic color present. 2. The...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a...

Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form...

Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...

An abundant material found in the form of quartz and agate and as one of the major constituents of sand. The silicates of...

Any noise or current fluctuation that prevents precise measurement of the signal current. Both dark current and signal...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally...

A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped...

The science that deals with the measurement of optical absorbance (i.e. optical densities) over microscopic areas of a given...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...

A television system that does not broadcast television signals but transmits them over a closed circuit.

Data communications network in a clearly defined geographical location, and extending no more than a few miles in length. It...

A technology that uses electrically activated holograms stored within specially developed crystals to route information in...

A type of laser welding of thin materials using a defocused or low-power carbon dioxide laser beam. The energy is absorbed...

The number of fields scanned per second in a television system. The US standard is 60. Also called field frequency.

A measure of the relative difference in refractive index between two optical materials. Most commonly used in fiber optics...

With respect to crystals, having three mutually rectangular axes, only two of which are equal.

The determination of what, how much and in what proportions chemicals must be combined to produce the desired reactions and...

Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...

The study of the physics of x-rays, where the x-rays exhibit properties similar to those of lightwaves. Also called Roentgen...

In image processing, methods of reducing image defects that result from false data. Techniques include sampling, linear...

A photographic process using x-ray radiation or the g-rays of radioactive materials.

A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for...

A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined...

Photochromic refers to a property exhibited by certain materials, typically organic compounds or dyes, which undergo...

Also known as ocular. The lens system used between the final real image in a visual optical system and eye. It acts as an...

In an optical waveguide, a mode whose field decays monotonically in the transverse direction everywhere external to the core...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...

A tool used in cutting circular holes around a center. Also, a laser cutter in which the beam moves in relation to the cut...

Reflectance spectroscopy is a technique used to analyze the reflective properties of materials across various wavelengths of...

A filter that suppresses a given range of frequencies, transmitting only those above and below that band. Also called...

That plane in an optical system containing its optical axis and the chief ray. Also called the tangential plane.

Radiographic recording and enhancement of the micoscopic details within the structure of thin specimens at a high...

A well plate, also known as a microplate or microtiter plate, is a flat plate with multiple small wells or depressions...

A device used to transmit and receive images that have been converted to electrical signals over regular telephone lines; it...

Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the...

A compact optical projection system, mounted on or built into a helmet, and used to project data or a scene directly into...

The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...

Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions....

A molecule that is the mirror image of another molecule. The two mirror-image molecules have the same chemical properties;...

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...

Birefringence of materials that is induced or altered by stress fields.

Also known as HCS, an analytical method designed to collect statistically relevant amounts of quantitative data on many...

A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...

The range of materials that, unlike glass, may be used in the infrared. Water-soluble salts, such as cesium iodide, and...

An instrument for detecting and analyzing repetitive signals. Using a fixed time delay or "gate," the input signal...

Coating carried out in a sealed chamber evacuated by a mechanical pump in series with an oil diffusion pump to a pressure...

1. Lines of the same color. 2. A term used in photoelastic stress analysis to refer to the interference fringes produced in...

Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the...

A microscope that uses a flying spot scanner, directed through the eyepiece, as a light source to determine the features of...

The determination of a substance's identity or quantity through the analysis of its optical rotation. For example, the...

Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows...

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in...

A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows...

A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor...

Equivalent to 10-6 radian, where 1 radian equals 180/pi degrees. A rod 1 km in length will be moved by an angle of 1...

A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline...

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of...

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It...

Also known as gatling gun laser. A system that has an array of lasers sharing a common central axis on a rotating Fabry...

The ray of an oblique pencil beam that passes through the center of the pupils. It is the effective axis of the oblique...

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...

One class of nonlinear space-invariant transformation processes used for processing convolved and multiplied signals.

Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...

A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...

A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range,...

An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is...

Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its...

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection...

A scientific CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera is a type of digital camera specifically designed for...

The formation of microimages for microreduction. The technique is used, for example, in the production of precision reticles...

A sensitometer having a continuously controlled monochromator to measure spectral sensitivity and contrast of photographic...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to...

Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...

Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers...

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer...

Also known as integrated exposure. A measurement of light from sources that vary rapidly with time, defined as the integral...

A photonic cavity, also known as an optical cavity, is a structure that confines electromagnetic radiation within a certain...

A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used...

Glass of special composition that is melted, formed into desired shapes, and subjected to a high-temperature treatment in...

Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...

Also known as transverse mode. The configurations of energy storage, relative to the structure of a laser resonator, that...

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are ordinary cells that are genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like...

A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various...

A small convergent lens, located between the objective and eyepiece of a microscope, that focuses an image of the upper...

The use of atoms, molecules and molecular-scale structures to enhance existing technology and develop new materials and...

Also known as display primaries. Colors formed by a television receiver that are of constant chromaticity and variable...

Separating two or more signals that have been combined into one signal.

Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to...

An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy...

Also referred to as fundus photography, ophthalmoscopy is the dioptrical study of the various interior components of the eye...

An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and...

A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which...

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...

Any noise with a power spectral density that is the inverse of the signal's frequency and is therefore most significant for...

Luminous flux emitted from a surface per unit solid angle per unit of area, projected onto a plane normal to the direction...

A gelatinous fluid that can be used as a porous thin-film coating for optical components, including laser beam collimators,...

Also known as roof prism. A type of prism designed by G.B. Amici. It consists of a roof edge produced upon the long...

Device consisting of a laser diode, beam-correcting optics and collimating optics in a single housing. Also called a...

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique used to detect changes in blood volume in tissues. It...

A technique based on the principles of laser trapping and used to manipulate the position of small particles by gradually...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials...

Also known as zonal axis. The axis positioned through the center of a crystal that is parallel to a zone edge.

An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current...

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to...

Sparkling granular pattern that is observed when an object diffusely reflects coincident laser light. Speckle appears as an...

A small optical polishing machine intended for polishing the surface of a metal specimen before etching for examination...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...

Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....

A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific...

Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...

Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to...

Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly...

Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...

The process by which the light from the images of photographic film is encoded into electrical signals for video...

Also known as an anticathode. An electrode or electrode section that is focused upon by an electron beam and that emits...

A closed-loop system that is constantly adjusted in response to input signals generated within the system.

An electromagnetic wave lying within the region of the frequency spectrum that is between about 1000 MHz (1 GHz) and 100,000...

A device that prevents electrons from a saturated pixel in a CCD imaging device from spilling into an adjacent pixel. The...

A photosensitive device used to optically scan and read character data (numbers, letters etc.) and input this data into a...

An electronic device that minimizes short-term drift effects and random measurement error inherent in alternate...

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...

A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape...

An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a...

An instrument for measuring the brightness (luminance) of a scene. It may be a spot meter, covering an area of a degree or...

A unit of pressure, one-thousandth of a bar, equivalent to 100 Pascal and 0.75 torr. One atmosphere equals 1013 mbar.

Term synonymous with refractive index liquid, but related more to tank or chamber immersion of crystals, fibers, lenses,...

Light produced when a metal is bombarded with high-velocity electrons causing small amounts of the metal to vaporize and...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...

A general term referring to the situation in which an image is not a true-to-scale reproduction of an object. The term also...

With respect to television, a potentiometer that allows variation of the intensity of the different elements of an image and...

The propagation constant evaluated along the axis of a waveguide, that is, in the direction of transmission. Also called...

A resin obtained from the balsam fir, Abies balsamea, used as a lens cement.

The ratio of aperture area over receiving area for a specific lens. Also called geometric concentration.

A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...

Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...

In optical communications, the translation of optical signals into radio signals, lowering their frequency in detection from...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light...

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....

A coating applied to a neutral density glass that is designed to reduce the amount of light evenly across the transmitted...

The displacement of spectrum lines, as determined by the increasing distance between, and the relative velocity of, the...

In optics, an image is the reconstruction of light rays from a source or object when light from that source or object is...

An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...

imaging system which clearly shows the IR signals in the field of view as well as ambient environment

Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication,...

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well...

A spectroscopic technique that combines the high chemical specificity of Raman scattering and signal sensitivity provided by...

Also known as TEA laser. A coherent optical source with a wide wavelength range in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet...

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically...

Lasers based on neodymium-doped yttrium or gadolinium vanadate crystals. These include yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4),...

A coating made up of particular birefringent materials having polarizing properties. It may be used, in some cases, to...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems...

A thermal infrared imaging procedure developed for quality control of printed circuit boards. The thermogram of each board...

A microscope equipped with a polarizer, an analyzer and a Bertrand lens to focus on the upper focal plane of the objective....

A system for fabricating optical fiber, consisting of a furnace that heats the materials, a polymer coating stage, a...

A fiber optic device that uses a HeNe laser, beamsplitter, monochromator and photomultiplier to detect trace levels of...

A device that varies the amplitude and phase of a light beam; e.g., from a laser or by sound waves. Also known as a Bragg...

Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...

Also known as constant angle or constant deviation fringes. The interference fringes observed with dense flat plates near...

Any optical transmission channel used in telecommunications designed to connect two end terminals or to be connected in...

A repeater that is designed for digital transmission. Also called a regenerator.

A package for electronic components that is suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards. The DIP is...

A part of the spectrochemical analysis of a sample that deals with the excitation of that sample by flame analysis.

With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by...

The use of a short-duration electron beam to record high-speed events that occur in microscopic objects made of materials...

Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct...

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...

Laser peening is a surface enhancement technique used to improve the mechanical properties of materials, particularly...

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...

An InGaAs photodiode refers to a photodetector device that is constructed using a semiconductor material composed of a...

A technique proposed for studying the atomic structure of crystals by measuring the interference pattern generated when the...

1. The SI unit of length equal to 10-6 m. Also called micron. 2. A screw thread device used to make accurate physical linear...

A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...

Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) refers to a specific range of UV radiation that has disinfectant properties capable of killing...

The properties of certain materials that cause them to have relative permeabilities that exceed unity. This permeability...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter...

In biaxial crystals, the principal angle that bisects the smaller angle between the optic axes.

A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...

The phenomenon whereby certain crystals exhibit spontaneous electric polarization. It is analogous with ferromagnetism.

In the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture...

A deliberately nonlinear amplitude modulation that strengthens weak signals and reduces strong signals for transmission.

The name of the mixture of liquid and grinding or polishing compounds used in processing optical materials.

Also termed eye distance. The distance between the vertex of the last optical surface of a visual optical system and the...

A test used to measure the degree of fading of different colored materials, especially those involving organic dyes, which...

The second adjustable iris diaphragm in an optical system. In the common microscope condenser system, it usually is located...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to...

A room that is light-tight, permitting total darkness or illumination with a safelight when working with photosensitive...

A lightproof box used for storing photosensitive materials.

An optical component coated to reflect infrared radiation. Gold, silver and aluminum are typical coating materials.

The pattern of physical or chemical changes that has taken place in a photographic emulsion, by its exposure to light, that...

The use of chemicals or radiation to induce a desired change in a substance; e.g., some optical adhesives are set by...

A factor of an equation of the Faraday effect, which is the rotation of the plane of light polarization by transparent...

FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging)...

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its...

An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually...

In television, the number of individual pixels that can be distinguished in a horizontal scanning line; also called...

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid...

A refrigeration method based on the Peltier effect. When an electric current passes through a thermocouple of two dissimilar...

A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...

An antigen is any substance that is capable of triggering an immune response in an organism. Antigens are typically proteins...

An assembly of fibers in which the coordinates of each fiber are the same at the two ends of the bundle. Also called...

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or...

In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and...

Also known as Fresnel reflection. That portion of the incident radiation that is reflected from the surface of a refractive...

A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a...

An assembly of optical fibers that will not transmit coherent images or information because the relationship of the fibers...

Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically...

Also known as an eyepiece micrometer. A microscope eyepiece that has a finely divided scale ruled or photographed on a...

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is...

An acronym for communications intelligence, referring to the collection of communications signals in the VHF and UHF...

Also known as analog thermogram. The resultant photograph, illustrating, in tones ranging from black to white, the spatial...

An imaging process, similar to specific Doppler mapping radar techniques, that utilizes a laser, an optical imaging system,...

An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...

An array of active optical devices (modulators, laser diodes and/or detectors), each of whose electrical inputs or outputs...

Material hardness scale that is used to characterize the scratch resistance of various materials. This surface hardness...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...

Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or...

Synonym for multimode distortion. Also called mode dispersion.

A scintillation detector is a radiation detection device that utilizes scintillation crystals to detect and measure ionizing...

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...

Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...

In optics, an octave typically refers to a range of frequencies or wavelengths that spans a factor of 2. In other words,...

The process in which the electron beam of a cathode-ray tube varies in intensity in accordance with the magnitude of the...

The electrical arc formed between metal rods that emits the spectrum of the metal itself. Commonly used in the chemical...

The range of frequencies over which a particular instrument is designed to function within specified limits. See also fiber...

Also referred to as a bulb. The glass housing that encloses an incandescent source, or the glass or metal housing that...

A gas, such as oxygen, that improves the speed and efficiency of a laser cutter or welder when applied to the work surface,...

Also known as convergent lens or convex lens. A lens that converges an incident bundle of rays to a focus.

Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical...

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all...

A technique used to store wavefront information on thin polarization information-recordable materials by controlling the...

A phase reflection scanner that eliminates the need for a complex translation device while maintaining a high-energy-density...

Enhanced picture archiving and communication system (PACS) display (ePAD) is a software tool used in medical imaging to...

In communcations and video signals, the portion of a composite signal between the leading edge of the horizontal blanking...

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as...

Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between...

Histology is the branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and organs...

An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are...

A term for thermoplastic optical materials; that is, those in which the polymer chains remain linear after heating and...

A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a...

A type of copying camera in which the object is placed on a horizontal easel and photographed by a horizontal camera above...

A fluorescent screen refers to a phosphorescent or fluorescent-coated surface that emits visible light when exposed to other...

A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT...

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) is a semiconductor alloy composed of gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), and phosphorus (P). It...

The arc formed when the rare gas xenon is excited electrically and emits a brilliant white light. Xenon is used to fill...

A system that uses the heat from a pulsed laser to weld metals. Because of the rapidity and localization in which the...

The line from a spark or other very hot source that has greater intensity than that of a line produced by an arc or flame...

In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one...

Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) is a medical treatment approach that combines elements of phototherapy and immunotherapy to target...

An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...

A waveguide with a rectangular cross section that is composed entirely of dielectric materials.

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical...

Technique for measuring the volume bulk of materials as they move along a conveyor with an accuracy of better than 1...

Also known as an optical diode, an optical isolator is a device that utilizes the Faraday effect to suppress or redirect...

Glass tinted with mixed oxides of neodymium and praseodymium that, unlike most solid materials, have absorption bands that...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...

Also referred to as the V number in fiber optics; the normalized frequency is a dimensionless quantity, denoted by the...

Epitaxial deposition is a process used in semiconductor manufacturing and materials science to grow a thin crystalline...

Also known as reversed telephoto lens. A lens consisting of an ordinary objective with a negative component near its front...

Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that focuses on the anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the eyes and visual system....

The pattern formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are composed of a sequence of...

Pairs of color stimuli that exhibit metamerism as described by colorimetry. Also known as metameters.

An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to...

The maximum rate at which temporally disjunct optical signals can be produced or detected.

Also called calcite. A natural hexagonal crystal of calcium carbonate. It cleaves readily into rhomboids useful in the study...

A method used to generate graphics within a computer system. Rather than dots or lines, fractal graphics work with...

When a block of glass (prism, window, filter, etc.) is placed into a converging light bundle, it increases the physical...

The degree to which a pixel in a digital image represents the analog brightness of the corresponding point in the original...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...

A photodetector composed of a photoconductive material that, when exposed to radiation, conducts without the aid of added...

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state...

A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of...

GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium...

Also known as RAMP microscopy, random access multiphoton microscopy is a microscopic technique that uses multiple...

In digital image processing, a method of convolution that reduces random noise by replacing the value of each pixel with the...

The transmission of a color photograph by separating the colors into varying intensities of red, blue and green, and then...

A crucible made of electrically resistive material through which a current is passed to heat the material inside, which then...

The property exhibited by certain birefringent crystals in which the degree with which they transmit polarized light is...

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial...

A device, either visual or electronic, that emits signals to identify set positions for use in the navigation of aircraft...

In positioning, rotation about an axis normal to the line of sight. Also known as attitude.

Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...

1. A defect inherent in a multiple-axis positioning system whereby an adjustment of one axis causes an undesired change in...

Also known as gas focusing. The introduction of an inert gas into a cathode-ray tube for the concentration of the electron...

Holographic tomography is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and tomography to provide three-dimensional...

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...

Rate at which optical radiation or a signal is varied through the use of a mechanical or electronic chopper. Also called...

A threadlike inclusion within a blank of optical glass. Rarely found in quality optical materials.

With respect to television, that part of a color television circuit that combines the I, Q and Y signals, and changes them...

Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the...

That branch of metallurgy that uses electron microscopic techniques in the examination of the nature of metals.

Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...

The deflection of a beam of electrons, at regular intervals, across a cathode-ray tube screen, according to a definite...

The axes of symmetry in a crystal structure. See also biaxial crystal; uniaxial crystal.

A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...

A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition,...

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, in vivo imaging...

Any testing method for materials and components that does not damage or destroy the test sample. Some of the methods used...

All formulas that present the index of refraction as a function of a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Also called...

Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...

Quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) is a display technology that utilizes quantum dots, which are semiconductor...

The recording of the information contained in a modulated electron beam onto photographic or silicon resin-coated materials....

The reproduction of a picture or image, produced by scanning the image and converting it into electrical signals that carry...

A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...

A unit of length in the metric system equal to one millionth of a meter (10-6 m). Also called micrometer. Abbreviated...

A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two...

A technique for measuring the energy spectrum of electrons emitted during the absorption of ultraviolet radiation. This...

Extensive data storage in the form of bits, with the use of high-resolution photographic materials and optics, and generally...

Also known as cathode-ray tube grid or shield. A cylindrically shaped electrode that, containing the cathode of a...

A measure of the transmittance through an optical medium. Optical density equals the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...

With respect to television, the transmission of the signals that originate from variously colored parts of an image in a...

Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...

An instrument that can preselect intervals, often in increments of 1, 10 or 100 ns, for the generation of electronic pulses...

Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for...

A device used in broadcast CCD cameras to improve definition in heavily saturated colors by band-limiting the color...

Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light....

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine...

In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...

A measure of the optical path length for light traveling from the sun or other celestial source through Earth's atmosphere...

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

Anisotropic is a term used to describe a material or substance that exhibits different properties or behaviors in different...

1. Also known as near-field diffraction. The field of radiation sent through an aperture in an absorbing screen at large...

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power...

A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...

An optical instrument used to isolate a narrow bandwidth of optical radiation using a diffraction grating as the dispersive...

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...

Sapphire crystal refers to a transparent, single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) known as corundum. It is one of the...

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...

A bandpass filter with piezoelectric crystal components for the passage or impedance of electrical signals of various...

An instrument used to test the hardness of various materials. It measures the pressure on a standard point that is necessary...

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...

A device designed to detect frequency-modulated signals by forming a unidirectional pulse from each sine wave. The direct...

The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent...

A scanning device used to cyclically tune through a given frequency range to determine the amplitude-frequency distribution...

State typically studied in liquid crystals in which the dielectric coefficient parallel to the director is less than the...

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and...

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples....

A method of designing lasers whereby the laser rod is cut into elliptical discs and cooled by running water over the disc...

A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently,...

Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...

A quantitative measurement of the coherence of a light source; equal to the visibility (V) of the fringes of a two-beam...

The combination of the audio and visual signals that are transmitted and received at the same time, correlating the scene...

Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera,...

An optical instrument, generally a polarizing microscope, that is used to determine the interference figures and optical...

Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...

A camera that permits adjustments in the perspective of an image; this is accomplished by the camera design, which permits...

Also duty factor, duty ratio. The product of the pulse duration and the pulse repetition frequency of a wave composed of...

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...

In positioning, in-plane rotation about the vertical axis. Also known as azimuth.

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance....

Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in...

A transistor designed to respond to either light or electrical signals.

In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from...

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an...

Superresolution refers to the enhancement or improvement of the spatial resolution beyond the conventional limits imposed by...

A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical...

An analysis used for problems of wave propagation. The principle notes that each point of an advancing wavefront is the...

The process of sealing laser components by means of frit seals, welding or bonding rather than using epoxy.

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics....

Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or...

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor...

A closely spaced series of well-known chemicals having a refractive index lying between 1.33 for water and 1.95 for a...

An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the...

A sensing or image-forming detector that serves to convert infrared rays into visible signals for communication purposes....

A method of determining prism power at any point on a lens. Prism power equals the product of the dioptric power and the...

An acid used to etch the surfaces of particular materials. For glass, hydrofluoric acid is used either as a liquid or a...

A type of photoelectric proximity mode sensing incorporating a lens system to focus the light from the emitter in a small,...

A bundle of filaments of optical glass or other transparent materials that transmit only light, not optical images. The...

A uniaxial, birefringent crystal such as calcite or ruby in which the velocity of the extraordinary ray surpasses that of...

Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as...

Also known as light beating. The mixing of two narrowband optical components to produce an AC component in the photocurrent...

Electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between 300 GHz and 10 THz, and existing between regions of the electromagnetic...

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is the 400- to 700-nm region (visible light) of the electromagnetic spectrum that...

A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It...

In physics, the law of reversibility is often associated with the concept of reversibility in thermodynamics. The law...

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...

A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living...

Infrared radiation absorbed by crystals as a result of the excitation of lattice vibrations in which ions having opposite...

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

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...

Photoconductive antenna (PCA) is a semiconductor element that generates or detects high-frequency electromagnetic signals....

A contraction of binary digit; the fundamental unit of digital computing, a bit is either 1 or 0, expressing the binary...

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...

Also known as real holographic image. The indistinct, highly distorted image produced on the side of the hologram closest to...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...

The occurrence of very large rotations in transparent materials at weak magnetic fields as predicted in the classical...

A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It...

A defect of vision where a single object appears as two. Also known as double vision.

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains...

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue,...

A lens is a transparent optical device that focuses or diverges light, allowing it to pass through and form an image. Lenses...

A compound lens, the dimensions and materials of which have been so chosen that the lens is appreciably free of aberrations.

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...

Also known as a gray body; a nonselective radiator is a thermal radiator that has a constant spectral emissivity with...

A type of radiation detector that depends on the ionization produced in a gas by the passage of a charged particle through...

Also known as a pyrradiometer. An instrument that is designed to measure heat radiation nonselectively; e.g., the...

Phototherapy is a medical treatment that involves the use of light to treat various conditions, particularly those related...

Substances that exhibit the characteristics of both acids and bases and are capable of both P- and N-type conductivity.

That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of...

A diffraction pattern sampling unit composed of a 32-element monolithic silicon photodiode array and a readout unit. The...

Filtered light to which photographic or other photosensitive materials are not responsive; used to illuminate darkrooms when...

The theoretical explanation and analysis of the interactions between electron waves and crystals used in studying electron...

Modulator/demodulator. An electronic device that modulates and demodulates signals transmitted over communications lines.

A general-purpose lens, also known as the Celor lens, used widely in photography and commercial processing; it has the form...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...

Luminescence that arises from friction and that usually occurs in crystalline materials.

Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or...

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of...

Fluorescence microscopy is a specialized optical imaging technique used in biology, chemistry, and materials science to...

Pitch for polishing mixed with other materials to give it the right viscosity so that it will follow the fine-ground lens...

Hyperspectral resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in the spectral information captured by a...

A reflector that exhibits specular reflectance, producing a direct image of its source. Also known as regular reflectance.

A method of synthesis for crystals such as KTP. The process involves the use of a high-temperature solution called flux to...

In a lens or lens system, that surface at which the projections of an entering and exiting ray intersect. Also known as the...

Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production...

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as...

A filter, partially opaque to near-ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation, that may be made by exposing and processing...

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by...

Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format....

Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...

A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium...

An amplifying device with a wide tuning range in which an electron gun sends a beam of electrons into a slow-wave structure....

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...

The area of optics that deals with the interaction of light with a given material. The optical properties of material are...

The luminescence displayed when particular minerals are irradiated with β-rays and g-rays, after being exposed to...

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...

The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their...

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to...

A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and...

Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or...

The emission of a photon by the return of an excited carrier from the conduction band to the valence band of a semiconductor...

An opaque projector is a device used for enlarging and projecting images from opaque objects such as printed pages,...

Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional...

A compound prism composed of two 30° prisms, one of which is partially coated with a suitable opaque metal of high...

A method of thin-film deposition in which electrons boiled off a heated cathode are used to melt the coating material. If a...

An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...

The process, used with a positive photoresist, in which the photoresist is immersed in developing chemicals while being...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...

A television receiver that receives the signals generated by a television camera directly, or remotely through a radio...

A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates...

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic...

A system designed to control the output quantity of a device by returning a portion of its output signal to its input. This...

A method of determining the abrasion resistance of very hard materials by passing a weighted wiper blade across them in a...

A lumen is a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of luminous flux, which is the perceived power of light. In...

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the...

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...

The signal formed when two signals, such as light waves, of different frequencies are present simultaneously in a nonlinear...

Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy...

Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the...

Generally, a rotatable table with scales marked in degrees. The fiducial marking also may be a vernier scale. The same...

The surface of an optical fiber that is used as a reference when joining optical fibers. Although the outermost cladding is...

A device that changes the number of lines per frame of a video image to adapt to a lower resolution format, either by...

A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by...

Glass that transmits near-ultraviolet radiation but is opaque in the visible region. Also known as woods glass.

1. In optics, the bending of rays away from each other. 2. In lasers, the spreading of a laser beam with increased distance...

Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the...

A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a...

The transform defining that, if a reference beam is a divergent spherical wavefront, then the reconstructed image will be...

Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology....

In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...

A spectroscopic technique used in the detection of free radicals by virtue of their electronic spectra. In this method, an...

1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...

Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological...

An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...

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

The process of determining, with the aid of plane-polarized light, the stress distribution in materials under complex...

Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the...

Also called DLIP, a high-speed, high-resolution processing technique that uses high-power, pulsed laser systems to directly...

Any integrated circuit that also makes use of one or more discrete components; frequently used to describe circuits that...

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...

Ink used for writing on glass, and also for blackening the edges of lenses to prevent reflection. In the latter case, the...

A device used in measuring the attenuation of multimode optical fibers. A short reference length of fiber when combined with...

A lens consisting of two or more elements, usually of crown and flint glass, that has been corrected for chromatic...

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating...

A device consisting of two optical systems in which two signals are simultaneously transformed to produce their spectra, and...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material...

The photographic recording of an image formed by the alteration in electrical properties of the sensitive materials and...

A device employed to identify toxic agents lingering on the ground or in the air from up to three miles away, by using laser...

Nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy is a microscopy technique that combines the principles of photonic...

Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...

Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a...

A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...

Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves...

A photoelectrically controlled, alphanumeric reading device that converts characters to audible or sorting signals which can...

Fiber optic cable bearing many fibers independently sheathed and capable of carrying unrelated signals. They often surround...

Photometry is the branch of science that deals with the measurement of light, particularly in terms of its intensity and the...

The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose...

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely...

Participates in a reaction only in the presence of light and radiant energy. Besides 3D printing, photoreactive agents also...

A furnace used to heat glass materials. It may be a small laboratory-type furnace for small-scale experiments or large...

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...

The partial differential equations for the spatial and time dependence of electric and magnetic fields inside a...

Phototoxicity refers to the harmful effects caused by exposure to light, particularly intense or ultraviolet (UV) light, on...

Developed for use in military reconnaissance systems, it consists of a polygonal mirror, drive motor, interface between...

A critical image parameter in applications where object position may change dynamically relative to the imager; this is a...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...

A manufacturing process used to construct substrates for large optical components. Used with IR materials, planform bonding...

A well controlled thin films technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at...

A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these...

A graphic reproduction of an object formed by a microscope or another optical system. Also an instrument used to make tiny...

The region at the PN junction in a semiconductor radiation detector where the potential energies of the two materials create...

Also referred to as a funduscope, an ophthalmoscope is a specialized instrument used by ophthalmologists for observing and...

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These...

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...

Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or...

A method of spectral analysis in which some property of the sample is varied and the corresponding change is measured. The...

Whole slide imaging (WSI), also known as virtual slide microscopy or digital pathology, is a technology that involves the...

In spectroscopy, the false images arranged symmetrically on both sides of the true line and caused by irregularities in the...

The central hole running the full length of a laser capillary tube, in which electrical discharge and laser action take...

A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...

An instrument capable of measuring the transmitted or reflected luminance from a very small area seen under a microscope....

A detector sensitive only to signals close to or at a particular frequency that is the same as the frequency of a control...

Also known as all-glass fiber. A fiber with both a silica core and a silica cladding, regardless of the presence of a...

The adjustable membrane located just in front of the crystalline lens within the eye. The iris gives the eye its color. See...

Also known as aplanatic lens. A lens corrected for spherical aberration and coma.

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the...

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution,...

The mathematical set of equations showing the relationship between oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are...

In a fiber optic cable, the longitudinal length required for the transmission media, wrapped around a central member, to...

Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main...

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical...

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...

A controlled motion system that may use a telescope, camera or antenna to follow accurately a satellite, missile, vehicle or...

A microscope that uses an extremely fine x-ray focal point to produce an enlarged photographic image of a sample. Also known...

The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e....

Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple...

A technique for confining atoms, molecules or small particles within one or more laser beams. This can be accomplished...

In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a...

Ratiometry is a technique used in various scientific fields, particularly in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, to...

Filoviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fevers in humans and...

Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the...

A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities, and also in their atomic or alloy...

An intensified charge-coupled device that uses a large negative charge at the grid to switch off the flow of electrons at...

A lens with one surface convex and the other concave, the latter having the greater curvature. It also is known as a...

Westinghouse trade name for an alloy of iron, nickel and cobalt, which has the same thermal expansion as glass and therefore...

A process by which a plastic cell is molded around a glass lens or lenses to create a mount, eliminating the metal barrel...

MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or...

A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of...

A passive coupler that distributes signals from one or several inputs among a larger number of output waveguides arranged...

In an optical system, noise created by mode-dependent optical losses and variations in the distribution of radiant power...

White, tetragonal crystals used in the production of luminous coatings.

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It...

Also referred to as the opposition surge, the opposition effect is a photometric phenomenon in which a rough retroreflective...

1. A device used to trace out an object and build up an image. One of the most common of these types is video scanning. The...

The direct influence of light on the magnetic susceptibility of particular materials.

Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...

In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...

Also known as electronic photometer. A photometer with a photocell, phototransistor or phototube for measuring the intensity...

An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of...

In image processing, mathematical operations that change spatial geometry, as for instance scaling, translating, rotating or...

Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless...

A reagent is a substance or compound that is used in a chemical reaction to bring about a specific transformation or to...

Also referred to as the width of the dark pulse. This is the time interval between the instant the particle approaches the...

A diagram that shows actual component signals and the basic wiring configuration of a relay logic circuit.

A laser that generates a succession of pulses at a high enough repetition rate to appear continuous. The pump source is...

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

Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the...

Vision at intermediate levels of luminance between photopic and scotopic vision, where both retinal cones and retinal rods...

The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It...

A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...

In a dual-ring local area network, a node that is connected both to the primary, active ring and also to a secondary ring...

A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are...

The rule stating that positive uniaxial crystals have greater absorption with respect to the extraordinary component of...

A type of electron microscope in which the specimen also serves as the cathode source.

The removal of the zero-order component of the Fourier spectrum distribution of an object with a small, opaque absorber or...

Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...

A technique for detecting free radicals by their electronic spectra. The material to be studied is placed in a...

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other...

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to...

An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists,...

Short-lived molecular or atomic particles, with an unpaired electron, that play an important part in many photochemical...

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent...

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...

A graphic representation of a distribution function such as frequency by means of rectangles whose widths represent the...

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It...

A closed vessel with electrodes of different potentials that is used to determine how much ionization took place in a gas...

Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...

A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization...

The study of the transmission of radiant energy through crystals, especially anisotropic crystals, and their effects on...

Also called complementary dominant wavelength. On a chromaticity diagram, the wavelength on the spectrum locus that lies on...

The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...

A CCD device in which a solid-state electron multiplying register has been added to the end of the normal serial register....

Colorless crystals used in photoelectric cells and for photosensitive material in cathodes.

An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to...

A negative powered lens with one surface convex and the other concave, the latter having the greater curvature. It also is...

The law stating that the amount of chemical change produced is proportional to the amount of light absorbed. Actually, the...

The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...

Also referred to as differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy; Nomarski microscopy is a unique form of microscopy...

The conductivity increase exhibited by some nonmetallic materials, resulting from the free carriers generated when photon...

A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth...

Oleophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or resist oils. The word oleophobic comes from the...

The emission of radiant energy produced by the passage of an electrical current through an appropriate electrolyte in which...

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single,...

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an...

Any of the numerous powders used for grinding and polishing glass, crystal or metal, the chief material being emery and...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...

An intermolecular substance that serves to hold materials together. Two types are used in the optical industry: one, which...

Also known as corner-cube reflector or retrodirective reflector. Three reflecting surfaces, perpendicular to each other,...

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the...

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical...

Also referred to as the axial ray (or a-ray), a marginal ray originates from the axial point of the object and passes...

Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...

Also known as OCT-A, optical coherence tomography angiography is an imaging technique that uses light waves to measure...

Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within...

Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...

A false image in television that follows the desired image so closely that it appears to be smeared.

Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a...

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...

The high-speed electrons and positrons emitted by radioactive materials.

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by...

Equipment that supports microscopic live-cell imaging by managing the gas, media perfusion, temperature and other factors to...

Pertaining to the possession of photoelectric characteristics as a result of the properties of the true crystal and not of...

Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently...

A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...

The simplest method of transmission on a local area network. The entire bandwidth of the cable is used to transmit a single...

An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color...

1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting...

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to...

Glass consisting of almost pure silicon dioxide (SiO2). Also called vitreous silica. Frequently used in optical fibers and...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...

A polariscope with a half-shade device and an angular scale generally attached to the analyzer. It is used to measure the...

In photography, the layer of light-sensitive material (usually a suspension of silver halide crystals) that coats the film...

A positioning drive that rotates a fraction of a 360° turn when the motor coils are activated, resulting in linear or...

In optical fiber, sharp but microscopic curvatures that create local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial...

A mixture of phosphor with a trace of a radioactive element that emits faint light continually. It is used on watch dials...

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...

A factor that, when multiplied by the average candlepower emitted by a light source in a specified angular zone, reveals the...

The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is...

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...

An approximated measure of the smallest change in color temperature detectable by the human eye, defined as the reciprocal...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light...

Phase shift in electromagnetic signals caused by daily variations in the ionosphere, often during sunrise or sunset.

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...

The unusual and anisotropic diamagnetic quality observed in particular crystals such as those composed of bismuth.

A unit of frequency that equals 1000 cps. Abbreviated kHz.

The effect discovered by Faraday in 1845 whereby nonoptically active materials or substances become capable of rotating the...

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against...

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...

Device in which the various circuit elements are fabricated in different substrate materials and then appropriately joined...

Imaging radar that increases the sweep of its along-track (or azimuth) capacity by measuring not only the time delay of the...

In Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), an incident photon (usually laser light) interacts with acoustic phonons in a...

A flexible display refers to a type of electronic visual display that is designed to be bendable, foldable, or rollable,...

Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength...

Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where...

A filter that polarizes light passing through it. It is possible to fabricate sheets of plastic or gelatin that contain...

An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...

A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.

In imaging technology, assigning color to black and white images to differentiate features or convey information. Also...

A fiber splice accomplished by fixtures or materials, rather than by thermal fusion. Index matching material may be applied...

A prism invented by William Nicol in 1828 that is made of calcite, the end faces of which are ground to an angle of 68°...

A surface that envelops a bundle of rays or bundle of normals to the wave surface. It may be observed as a hollow, luminous...

In optics, degreasers or ultrasonic arrangements used for removing pitch, cement or polishing material from lenses during...

Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate...

Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...

With respect to microscopy, also called dispersive staining, optical staining the projection of colors through areas of a...

A wave of radiant energy in which each point of the wave is repeatedly displaced at equal time intervals.

Hydrophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or do not readily interact with water. The word...

Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier....

A wave that is polarized elliptically or circularly polarized and in which the electric field vector — observed while...

Also known as cathodic etching. Surface etching achieved by bombarding an evacuated surface with gas ions.

Second-order nonlinear optical properties refer to a class of phenomena exhibited by certain materials in response to...

Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...

A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle...

Also called scanning laser acoustic microscope. A device that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves to penetrate surfaces. A...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects...

1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...

A device that uses nematic liquid crystals sandwiched between fused silica substrates to change the phase of polarized...

1. A faint second image caused by reflection that is sometimes seen when observing through an optical instrument. 2. With...

Referring to compound semiconductor materials combining one element with two valence electrons and one or more with six....

Ray tracing is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a scene....

Data gathered by a facsimile system and converted into graphic, readable form; generally used in meteorology. Also known as...

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...

A salt of formic acid that can be used to enhance the photosensitivity of silver halide crystals.

A laser device intended for crushing urinary tract stones so they can be flushed from the body. Light is introduced via...

Exhibiting the characteristic of materials that are electrical insulators or in which an electric field can be sustained...

The imaginary line passing through both the centers of curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens or mirror; the optical...

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...

Also known as the Wiener spectrum or the noise power spectrum, the optical power spectrum is a fundamental quantity in...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...

Also called color blocking. The formation of a block by making optical contact between a number of optical elements and a...

Also called coating jig allowance. That margin on an optical component that is outside the clear aperture for use in holding...

Technique in which the polarization rotation of light, and its relationship to the magnetic field strength can be analyzed...

A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...

A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel...

A motion-picture camera that can be advanced one frame at a time, either randomly or at set intervals. Used in animation and...

Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in...

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous...

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide...

The simultaneous collection of two or more signals at a single location. In a digital computer, it refers to the number of...

Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to...

Concerned with the transmission and reception of both sight and sound. An audiovisual system communicates pictorial images...

Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings,...

A screen composed of a sheet of diffusing plastic material that reveals excellent image detail for close viewing. It is...

A camera copying system that can reduce originals onto 35- or 16-mm film for easy storage.

Also referred to as primary color, this is the classic chromatic aberration of a single element caused by the variation of...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit...

That object distance at which a camera must be focused so that the far depth of field just extends to infinity. The near...

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing...

An instrument used to detect radioactive materials: alpha particles or helium nuclei; beta particles or free electrons; and...

The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to...

Molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid or tube. Also called buckyballs....

1. The process of following an object's movement; accomplished by focusing a radar beam on the reticle of an optical system...

The combination of two or more signals for transmission along a single wire, path or carrier. In most optical communication...

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...

Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the...

Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...

An astronomical mirror, also known as a telescope mirror or primary mirror, is a key component of a reflecting telescope. It...

The decrease in the refractive index at the center of a fiber's core, caused by certain fabrication techniques. Also called...

In optics and photolithography, a phase mask refers to a device that modifies the phase of light waves passing through it....

A compound crystal having two or more crystals or crystal sections that, when regularly positioned, are in reverse position...

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly...

Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared...

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...

A type of camera that incorporates a tiny mirror that oscillates in accordance with incoming signals. An illuminated slit is...

In a CD-ROM disc, the reflective area between nonreflective pits representing a binary-language "off'' as opposed to...

RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is...

Also cellulose acetate film. The emulsion layer applied to the substrate of a photographic surface. The emulsion layer is...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images...

Rockwell hardness (Rc) refers to a method for measuring the hardness of a material, primarily metals, using an indentation...

A fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna (FCPA) is a type of optoelectronic device that combines a photoconductive antenna...

A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...

A device for inducing mode coupling in an optical fiber. Also, a device composed of one or more optical fibers in which...

A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to...

A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...

The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an...

Low Earth orbit (LEO) refers to a region in space that is relatively close to Earth's surface, typically characterized by...

CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...

An opaque inclusion in glass that contains undissolved or crystalline material. Also known as a seed.

Spectroscopy used to study the concentration, diffusion and Brownian motion of small particles suspended in a fluid by...

A device that determines the lens shape in the cutting or edging phase of fabrication. It also is used to denote the...

An acoustic wave that propagates along the surface of a solid and decays exponentially with substrate depth. Also called a...

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced...

A permanent joint whose purpose is to couple optical power among two or more ports. Also, a device whose purpose is to...

In image processing, the assigning of certain portions (or pixels) of an image a constant value of either 0 (black) or 1...

A cathode-ray tube that generates symbols for use in other displays. The tube operates by scanning specific characters on...

Process developed for the production of high-resolution patterns in electro- and magneto-optics. These high-generation...

The process or device by which more than one signal can be sent over a single channel by using different time intervals for...

A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are...

Pertaining to materials having the property of reflecting a part and transmitting a part of the incident radiation.

The term half bandwidth (HBW) generally refers to the width of a spectral band or frequency range at half of its maximum...

Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed...

Also referred to as a band-stop or band rejection filter; a notch filter is a filter that is designed to screen out a very...

A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...

Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...

Also called shining. Grinding and polishing one surface of a blank to permit a more thorough examination for quality.

Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials...

Able to rotate the plane of polarization of a transmitted, plane-polarized light beam clockwise as seen by a viewer looking...

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or...

A device used in a free-electron laser to convert the electron-beam's energy into microwave laser radiation by creating a...

Also called Geiger-Müller counter. An instrument designed to detect and measure radioactivity through the use of a...

Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that involves using a laser to selectively fuse...

The series of interference bands that appear in the spectrum when a specified glass plate is inserted into a spectroscope,...

An electronic transducer, either fixed or adjustable, that reduces the amplitude of a wave without causing significant...

The condition of the numerical aperture or beam diameter of the laser, LED, or other optical source being larger than the...

The photographic recording of an action by taking a series of still pictures at regular intervals throughout the action.

Radiant flux incident per unit area of a surface. Also called radiant flux density.

A solid with a structure that exhibits a basically symmetrical and geometrical arrangement. A crystal may already possess...

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...

The process of heating and slowly cooling a solid material, like glass or metal, to stabilize its thermal, electrical or...

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional...

Also referred to as image visibility, the contrast of an image is the variation in the intensity of an image formed by an...

A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing...

Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and...

That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the...

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...

The total fusion and sealing of materials, or usually an enclosure, to ensure that they are airtight.

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....

A standard source of high-charge-state ions for accelerators that has an external magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to...

Also known as f number, lens speed is commonly represented as the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the lens....

A waveguide is a physical structure or device that is designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, such as radio...

Also known as a turned-down edge. A rapid change of curvature near the edge in a lens or prism surface.

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital...

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...

An adhesive whose viscosity decreases as the temperature is increased to a limit. Canada balsam, resin and pitch are...

A phage, short for bacteriophage, is a type of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Phages are composed of...

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...

Popular process for silicon and polycrystalline production that consists of an alteration of the original state of a...

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...

Hydrophilic is a term used to describe substances or materials that have an affinity for water. The word hydrophilic comes...

A method of focusing an optical system by moving the front component (the lens closest to the subject) to change the...

A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...

A camera that uses a rotating mirror to project sequential images onto lenses that are arranged in an arc. The reflected...

An Abbe condenser in which the upper lens element is fixed. The lower lens may focus the illumination between the elements...

A device using the Kerr effect to read back the signals from mechanically recorded tapes and discs. It consists of a light...

The process in which the normal rate of fluorescent emission from a substance is enhanced by virtue of the optical gain of...

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....

A photomask, also known simply as a mask or reticle, is a key component in the photolithography process used in...

Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the...

A flowmeter is a device used to measure the flow rate or quantity of a fluid passing through a particular point in a system....

In a heterodyne optical receiver, the frequency that is the difference between that of an incoming laser signal and that of...

The physical distance, measured along the optical axis, from the object to the image. Also called overall length.

A display standard no longer in use and originally defined for IBM PCs, with 640 3 480 pixels in 16 colors and a 4:3 aspect...

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for...

A method of growing single crystals in which atoms and molecules from gaseous organic compounds interact and form a layer on...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the...

1. In glass, a solid inclusion having a small diameter. 2. A particular, single crystal that, after undergoing the...

Q-switched operation, or q-switching, is a technique used in lasers to produce short and intense pulses of light. The term...

An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation....

The recording and mathematical analysis of all spectral intervals of the spectrometer simultaneously.