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ANSI Dictionary Terms

photodarlington
A Darlington current amplifier consisting of two separate transistors, of which a phototransistor is the input device.
transient
 panoramic camera
A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is...
surveying instruments
Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the...
luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...
Murty interferometer
A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...
molecular spectroscopy
Spectrum analysis concerned with the spectra formed by transitions in molecules.
Stirling engine
An engine in which work is performed by the expansion of a gas at high temperature; heat for the expansion is supplied...
multiplet
A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in...
sequence camera
A type of motion-picture camera in which single frames are photographed either automatically at a predetermined rate (as...
fusion
1. The combination of the effects of two or more stimuli in any given sense to form a single sensation. With respect to...
photoconductivity
The conductivity increase exhibited by some nonmetallic materials, resulting from the free carriers generated when photon...
long-pass filter
A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...
solid-state imaging system
An imaging system that uses a mosaic of tiny light-sensitive semiconductors (phototransistors) to produce individual outputs...
unipolar
Refers to the transistors in which the working current flows through only one type of semiconductor material, either P-type...
carbon dioxide laser
A gas laser in which the energy-state transitions between vibrational and rotational states of CO2 molecules give emission...
ion laser
A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized...
isotopically selected laser spectroscopy
A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The...
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
That branch of spectroscopy that applies to the study of interactions between energy and atomic nuclei. The simultaneous...
inhomogeneous broadening
Broadening of a laser's spectral linewidth when the resonance frequencies of the atoms (or molecules) of the medium are not...
fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
A powerful method, referred to as FCS, for determining the average diffusion coefficients of fluorescent molecules in...
bandgap
In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....
inverse bremsstrahlung
Collisional absorption of energy that occurs in inertial confinement fusion systems when hydrodynamic expansion of the...
deformable mirror device
A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...
broadband filter
A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a...
photodynamic inactivation
Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...
bipolar
Refers to transistors in which the working current flows through two types of semiconductor material: N- and P-type. In...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
calcium fluoride
An optical material used in place of crown glass to produce lenses with extraordinary correction of chromatic aberrations....
Van der Waals
Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...
quantum cascade laser
A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....
fiber distributed data interface
A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and...
III-V material
In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from...
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...
transient calorimetric technique
A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a...
four-level laser
A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
optoacoustic
Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves...
unijunction transistor
A three-terminal semiconductor having only one PN junction and a stable, open-circuit, negative-resistance property.
modulation transfer function analysis/measurement equipment
MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer...
transit
 becquerel
Activity of a radionuclide having one spontaneous nuclear transition per second.
nominal hazard zone
Zone of laser operation in which the direct, reflected or scattered light exceeds the laser's MPE and (by ANSI standards)...
superresolution
Superresolution refers to the enhancement or improvement of the spatial resolution beyond the conventional limits imposed by...
Joule-Thomson cooler
A detector cooling device in which a gas under high pressure escapes through an expansion valve in the tank; as the escaped...
rotational transition
One of the types of change in the energy levels of molecules or atoms in a laser that can result in lasing action. Because...
color center
A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...
extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....
excitation potential
The amount of energy required to raise the energy level of an atom; a necessity if the atom is to radiate energy. High...
laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy
A pump-probe technique whereby a single wavelength source may be used in order to excite a given sample to determine...
reciprocal second (Hz)
The fundamental wavelength standard of time or frequency. An atomic standard, it is properly expressed as 9,192,631,770...
germanium crystal
Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...
coefficient of thermal expansion
A numerical representation of the rate at which a material will exhibit dimensional changes as a direct result of changes in...
land
In a CD-ROM disc, the reflective area between nonreflective pits representing a binary-language "off'' as opposed to...
absorption coefficient, absorption cross section
The transition cross section constant coefficient which defines the transition probability of absorption from ground to a...
electron band
A spectrum band that is usually found in the visible or the ultraviolet because of the electron transitions taking place...
metastable state
An excited energy state of an atom or atomic system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited state and typically...
resonance absorption (light)
The re-emission of absorbed energy, having the same wavelength as the incident energy, in an arbitrary direction from a...
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
active-matrix
An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for...
direct radiative transition
An energy transition concerned with photons alone.
vibronic transition
A type of change in the energy levels of molecules in a laser that results in lasing action. Vibronic transitions are those...
microwave mapping
The pattern of microwave field intensity that can be obtained by detecting the minute expansion of a microwave absorber slab...
photoelectric photometer
Also known as electronic photometer. A photometer with a photocell, phototransistor or phototube for measuring the intensity...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
pyrex
Trade name for a type of borosilicate glass manufactured by Corning Glass Works, noted for its low coefficient of thermal...
stress-applying part
In polarization-preserving optical fibers, the element used to induce birefringence. The SAP is highly doped to provide a...
thermal interface materials
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...
photoacoustic imaging
Abbreviated PAI. An imaging modality with a hybrid technique based on the acoustic detection of optical absorption from...
wide-angle lens
A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to...
cosmic expansion
The ongoing expansion of the universe based on observations of the recession of distant galaxies from each other as...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
microcircuit manufacturing
The formation of transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and other electronic elements directly on a flake of silicon by...
photodetector
A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical...
attosecond photonics sources
Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of...
inverse piezoelectric effect
The resulting contraction or expansion of a piezoelectric crystal along an electric axis when the crystal is under the...
laser-mediated gene transfer
Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...
pneumatic detector
A device used to detect radiant energy by means of the thermal expansion of gas.
magneto-optic storage
A specific type of storage in which the material to be written on is heated above its transition temperature and switched in...
indirect radiative transition
An energy transition concerned with the combination of a photon and a phonon.
third-order theory
Calculations of lens aberrations whereby the first two terms of the series expansion are the only ones employed....
dilatometer
An instrument used to measure expansion of solids, liquids and gases.
absorption peak
An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...
linewidth
1. The range of frequencies or wavelengths over which radiations are absorbed or emitted in a transition between a specific...
spontaneous transition probability
The probability that an atom in one state will move spontaneously to a lower state within a given unit of time.
phototransistor tachometer
A tachometer consisting of a light source, rotating perforated wheel and phototransistor to measure the rates of rotation of...
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...
crystal quartz
The naturally occurring crystalline form of silicon dioxide. It is slightly birefringent and exhibits rotary dispersion of...
current transient
A sudden, brief increase in current or voltage in a circuit that can damage sensitive components and instruments. Preventive...
optoelectronic transistor
A transistor that uses an electro-luminescent source, a transparent base and a photoelectric collector.
case hardening
A surface heat-treating process that produces a highly stressed surface. In case-hardening of glass, a plate of glass is...
auroral line
The green line, in the spectrum of the aurora borealis, that has a wavelength of 5577 Å; it is caused by a forbidden...
Kovar
Westinghouse trade name for an alloy of iron, nickel and cobalt, which has the same thermal expansion as glass and therefore...
jig transit
An optical instrument containing a gimballed sighting telescope, used to measure angular relationships in horizontal and...
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...
laser pump
A source of energy that produces needed excitation for population inversion in laser operation. The excitation source that...
laser shock adhesion test
A nondestructive test, also referred to as LASAT, that uses a high-energy laser pulse that is targeted on an adhesively...
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
resonance radiation
That radiation emitted by an atom or molecule that has the same frequency as that of an incident particle; e.g., a photon....
nonradiative transition
A nonradiative transition refers to a process in which an electron or an atom undergoes a change in its energy state without...
Franck-Condon principle
The principle that electronic energy transitions occur at such speeds that the nuclei of the atoms in the molecular system...
electro-optic detector
A device that detects radiation by utilizing the influence of light in forming an electrical signal. It may be a phototube;...
Zerodur
Schott Glass Technologies' trade name for a glass-ceramic material with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion.
field effect transistor photodetector
A photodetector employing photoregeneration of carriers in the channel region of an FET structure to provide photodetection...
graser
An acronym of gamma ray amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. It is a gamma ray laser that operates between...
Auger effect
The radiation-free transition that takes place within an ion, in which inner-shell vacancies in neutral atoms are filled by...
near-infrared spectroscopy
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...
hole burning
The dip or gap in the profile of a laser beam's line width when it is both homogeneously and inhomogeneously broadened. When...
time domain
The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...
Fermat's principle
The principle that a light ray extending from one point to another will, after any number of reflections and refractions,...
frequency comb
A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with...
optical clock
An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic...
graphene
Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...
gas laser
One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although...
active-matrix display
A type of liquid-crystal display in which each display element contains an active component, such as a thin-film transistor,...
atomic time
Any system of time measurement that is based on atomic resonances. The transition times between the hyperfine levels of...
redshift
The displacement of spectrum lines, as determined by the increasing distance between, and the relative velocity of, the...
optical transition
The process by which an atomic system changes from one energy level to another by either the emission or absorption of...
doublet
1. A compound lens consisting of two elements. If there is an air space between the elements it is called an...
arc flash
An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...
doping
In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities...
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...
fused quartz and silica
Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...
helium-neon laser
A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates...
anisotropic
Anisotropic is a term used to describe a material or substance that exhibits different properties or behaviors in different...
transistor
An electronic device consisting of a semiconductor material, generally germanium or silicon, and used for rectification,...
optical fiber optic switches
Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...
discrete
An individual circuit component, complete in itself, such as a resistor, diode, capacitor or transistor. It is used as an...
infrared detector
An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...
PN junction
The transition boundary between P-type and N-type materials in a semiconductor.
laser photochemistry
The study concerned with the stimulation of chemical activity by laser light as a result of the absorption of photons by a...
anisotropy
Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions....
trapped plasma avalanche-triggered transit
Oscillator device composed of a semiconducting diode in a coaxial resonating cavity. When the biasing current is applied to...
emission spectrum
An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...
styrene acrylonitrile
A copolymer of styrene and acrylic used in molded optical components; it has a high refractive index and a low coefficient...
Bohr's frequency relation
The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1...
vibrational transition
A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...
photoacoustic calorimetry
Periodic interruptions of a light beam incident on an absorbing medium that produce heat, expansion and acoustic wave...
Astrosital
A glass-ceramic material developed in Russia. Astrosital resembles Zerodur in terms of its ultralow thermal expansion. Other...
Meissner effect
The elimination of magnetic fields from within a material as that material makes the transition from the normal to...
electro-optic transistor
A transistor designed to respond to either light or electrical signals.
PP junction
A transition boundary between two regions having different properties in a P-type semiconducting material.
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
invar
A material often used in the construction of optical instruments because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion (0.9 x...
gamma ray
The spontaneous emittance of electromagnetic radiation by the nucleus of certain radioactive elements during their quantum...
phototransistor
A solid-state device similar to an ordinary transistor except that incident light on the PN junctions regulates the response...
carrier injection
Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor...
electronic band spectrum
The bands of spectral lines representing the electronic transition in a molecule.
passive-matrix liquid crystal display
An LCD that has pixels with no internal drive transistors.
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits,...
perovskite
The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
active-matrix OLED display
An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...
transition
The process whereby a quantum mechanical system alters from one energy level to another. During this process, energy is...
superconductor
A metal, alloy or compound that loses its electrical resistance at temperatures below a certain transition temperature...
active-matrix liquid crystal display
When applied to LCD grids, the active matrix is a means of supplying power to pixels by use of a transistor and capacitor....
saturation
1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...

(161 results found)

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