Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by their ability to interact with light in a...

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

Hyperchromic shift refers to an increase in the absorption of light, leading to a higher absorbance, often observed in...

A mounting used for large concave gratings, whereby the slit, grating and plate holder lie in the Rowland circle, and the...

A solid-state laser using yttrium aluminum garnet as the matrix material, doped with neodymium (Nd:YAG).

A product of the area of a light beam (normal to its direction of propagation) and the solid angle that the beam includes;...

A glow discharge lamp consisting of a cold cathode and a mixture of inert gases. The intensity of illumination varies with...

A casting consisting of an optical material molded into the desired geometry for grinding, polishing or, in the case of...

The simultaneous exposure of two holographic plates with emulsions facing the object. After deformation, a second pair of...

The spontaneous visual presentation of radar information by electronic traces on a cathode-ray tube.

A unit that converts images to the standard NTSC format for use with video recorders, projectors and discs.

A spectroradiometer having a means to scan different regions of the light spectrum, providing simultaneous representations...

A technique developed to measure the molecular weight of macromolecules by analyzing the spontaneous fluctuations that occur...

A monatomic, chemically inert gas such as argon, neon, krypton and xenon.

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

The square of the ratio of the measured detectivity to the theoretical maximum detectivity.

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

Literally, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet. A cylindrical rod of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium that is the...

That theory that treats the light field as a single scalar field rather than as two coupled vector fields.

A form of a stereoscopic microscope having paired objectives, prisms and eyepieces, and invented by H. Greenough.

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

The dip or gap in the profile of a laser beam's line width when it is both homogeneously and inhomogeneously broadened. When...

Unified notation for specification of reflectance in terms of both incident- and reflected-beam geometry; i.e., the ratio of...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional...

Synonym (regarded by some as erroneous) for multimode distortion, which see.

The term applied to the geometrical structure of radiometry or of the propagation of any quantity that is conversed and that...

Elastic deformation of a dielectric caused by volume force when the dielectric is placed in an inhomogeneous electric field.

An optically pumped solid-state laser in which the active medium is a neodymium ion in a glass rod host. Abbreviated...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit...

1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2....

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

The theory and interpretation of spectra produced by the electron emissions of substances after their irradiation by x-rays.

Geometrical partition possible with a sphere that can be four, six, eight, 12 or 20 solid-angle wedges. Each platonic mass...

A technique for creating optimal performance in a system by producing a specific beam irradiance distribution, usually...

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

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

The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...

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

An electron tube containing neon gas that uses the transmission of an electric current through the gas to ionize the neon...

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

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

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

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...

The perception of depth due to binocular vision.

A container designed to hold recording material (film, video- and audiotape) so that when it is loaded into a recording...

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly...

Instantaneous field of view (iFOV) is a term commonly used in the context of remote sensing, imaging systems, and optical...

A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion,...

Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...

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

STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence...

An approach to optical character recognition based on matching the input character against a set of stored prototypes.

Trade name referring to an instrument that determines surface distances by measuring the length of time it takes for a...

The parallel orientation of the molecular axes of the nematic molecules in a nematic crystal, relative to the electrode...

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

A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or...

The determination of the degree to which a manufactured component can deviate from its ideal specifications of material and...

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

Describing a laser that emits simultaneously at more than one wavelength.

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

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

A device, such as a thermionic or crystal diode, that is introduced into the vision channel of a television receiver to...

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

Glass containing small quantities of neodymium oxide that is used as a filter plate in color television or as a lasing...

A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of...

A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to...

A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect...

The photographic recording of objects or events in a manner that allows quantitative information to be derived from the...

The horizontal distance between the 90° meridian of a bifocal lens and the geometrical center of the segment.

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In...

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

The simultaneous occurrence of specular and diffuse reflection.

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

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

A mode of data transmission whereby bits of information are carried simultaneously at different frequencies over a single...

That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the...

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

Abbreviated SoC. A single chip containing all the electronic circuits required for a complete, working product. SoCs are...

A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical...

A write-once optical disc storage system in which the optical head reads continuously while writing to check the accuracy of...

The process in which the normal rate of fluorescent emission from a substance is enhanced by virtue of the optical gain of...

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

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

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

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...

A technique used to create an achromatic phase shift based on the principle of geometric phase. The phase shift is...

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

Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a...

Technology that uses data from an array of sensors, one of which is commonly lidar, to solve the problem of creating a map...

The process by which a vitreous or amorphous substance forms a crystal structure at a specified temperature.

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

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

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

A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with...

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

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA...

A phototube that functions within a vacuum and thus eliminates the effects of gaseous ionization on its electrical...

In image processing, a specially designed programmable computer peripheral that attaches to the host system for the purpose...

A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...

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

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

Often referred to as the geometric center of a given image or image plane, the centroid of an image is a fixed point located...

The presence, within the body of the glass, of extraneous or alien material. See seed; striae.

Scalar diffraction theory is a simplified approach used to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly...

The physical center of the lens; it is on the axis of the lens, halfway between the front and rear vertex. It is sometimes...

On a test chart, the pattern designed to direct and measure geometric distortion.

The hydrogen-derived, ultraviolet radiation running from 1216 to 512 A, discovered by Theodore Lyman in 1914.

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

Activity of a radionuclide having one spontaneous nuclear transition per second.

That state determining that two waves of like frequency will travel through their maximum and minimum values of the same...

A shift in the direction of the red in the spectral lines of light which, defined by the relativity theory, will have...

That branch of spectroscopy that applies to the study of interactions between energy and atomic nuclei. The simultaneous...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...

Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and...

1. A stereoscope that has adjustable scales to allow the determination of distances and dimensions from stereoscopic...

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...

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

Image displacement by a decentered lens, rotated on a chuck whose axis of rotation passes through the geometrical center of...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...

An infrared imaging device composed of a detector array and readout electronics. It may include a cryogenic cooling system....

The position and shape of the image of a point source, as predicted by geometric optics alone. The geometric image is to be...

A passive infrared system that uses two line-of-sight telescopes to generate both narrow and wide field-of-view images of...

In present usage, especially for spectroscopic identification, an arc between electrodes that serves as a radiation source....

A type of tubing used to protect optical fiber cables, consisting of a wire spiral of aluminum, galvanized steel or...

RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is...

Consisting of, containing, pertaining to or yielding carbon.

The simultaneous occurrence of direct and diffuse transmission.

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of...

A reflecting prism that is rhomboidal in shape. It has two parallel transmitting faces, and two parallel reflecting faces;...

A laser having a material, such as ruby, that has an energy state structure of three levels: the ground state (1) wherein...

A microdensitometer that contains a scanning stage to provide simultaneous representations of position vs. density.

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

Three proportional coefficients labeled Am, Bmn, and Bnm, that respectively characterize the rate of spontaneous emission,...

Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement,...

A ring dye laser that uses prisms and a saturable absorber within the laser cavity to shape and shorten the pulses...

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to...

Postulated by Einstein in his theory of relativity. They are waves traveling at the speed of light and exerting force on...

Solar regions characterized by low density and open magnetic fields where high-speed solar wind streams originate....

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

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

That part of the cladding wherein the refractive index is constant within a specified tolerance, as a function of radius.

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 process or act of measuring the geometric properties of an object or image.

A device that calibrates the size, position or distance of objects imaged on a video screen.

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

Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on...

In image acquisition (and sampling theory), the postulate that the pickup sampling frequency must be a minimum of twice as...

Theoretical calculation of the cross section for a nuclear reaction given in the vicinity of a single resonance level in the...

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

The lateral distance between a vertical line drawn through the geometrical center of the distance portion of a multifocal,...

An optical fiber in which ions of a rare-earth element, such as neodymium, erbium or holmium, have been incorporated into...

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...

A pair of telescopes with prismatically erected images, mounted side by side with the eyepieces at the interocular distance...

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the...

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

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or...

A group of solar cells that are electrically contacted and physically arranged so that they may be oriented in the direction...

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

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

That part of the science involved in the study of the theory and interpretation of spectra that uses the unique...

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although...

Swept-source optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...

Scattering (other than material scattering) that is attributable to variations of geometry and index profile of the...

In aerial photography, the ratio derived from a stereoscopic pair of photographs that represents the air-base length divided...

An arrangement of optical fibers in a bundle whereby the geometric configuration of the input end differs from that of the...

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

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

Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components...

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

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin...

A type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at...

A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a...

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

When a stereo pair of images is switched so that the right eye sees the left image and the left eye the right, the stereo...

1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications...

The term sometimes used to describe the sequential arrangement of components in a video system -- from transmitter to...

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

An exaggerated depth appearance in stereo photographs caused by the lenses in the camera being farther apart than the eyes...

Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that involves using a laser to selectively fuse...

An OLED display formed by creating an array of OLED pixels connected by intersecting anode and cathode conductors arranged...

A laser that distributes its output power among two, three or four optical fibers simultaneously.

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

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a...

Referring to the bandwidth and spectrum location of the signal produced by television or radar scanning.

Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA...

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

The characteristics of a material that determine its tendency to flow.

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and...

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

The recording and mathematical analysis of all spectral intervals of the spectrometer simultaneously.

A fundamental law of quantum theory which states that the discrete quanta of energy transfers associated with...

The observation of specimens by a microscope linked to a television camera and an image processor.

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

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...

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

Microscopic investigation of two-dimensional areas of a three-dimensional object that can be quantitatively evaluated by...

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

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

A man-made satellite that orbits 35,680 km from the Earth at a rate of one orbit per 24-hour period, thereby retaining its...

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

The ability to perceive binocularly the apparent depth and relative distance of objects.

The use of miniature scanners to project raster-scanned video images directly onto the surface of the human retina,...

A type of stereoscopic photography in which a pair of lenses focuses a pair of images, relative to the positions of the two...

The photographing of a scene from positions corresponding to the locations of both eyes. A viewing device is used to present...

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

A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...

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

Having the characteristics of glass.

A length that denotes the size of the unit cell in a crystal lattice. With respect to the cubic crystal, this is the length...

A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure...

A character generation CRT that functions on the principle of secondary emission. The target holds a set of aluminum...

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

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

The branch of science that treats light as a wave phenomenon wherein light propagation is studied by wavefronts rather than...

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

The process in the manufacture of an optical system that gives it the required geometric shape.

The imaging of two photographs of a stereo pair, in complementary colors, for the preparation of contour maps.

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

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...

The region of a ferroelectric crystal where spontaneous polarization is uniformly directed.

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

A device designed to measure linear or rotary motion by detection of the movement of markings on a transparent medium past a...

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

The spontaneous emittance of electromagnetic radiation by the nucleus of certain radioactive elements during their quantum...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide...

In coherence theory, an optical law put forth by physicist Emil Wolf that explains the behavior of light as it travels away...

A form of Cassegrain telescope having a concave hyperbolic primary and a convex hyperbolic secondary. This form permits the...

A high-frequency approach to the propagation of light in graded-index fibers in which the modal field is represented in...

Property of a substance whose volume elements differ in composition and optical properties.

GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...

The luminance portion of a composite video signal, i.e., the portion of the signal that corresponds to the brightness of the...

The probability that an atom in one state will move spontaneously to a lower state within a given unit of time.

A precise telescope set on a pair of rotation axes, the horizontal and vertical axes equipped with two divided circles. One...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...

A lack of resolution in a television image as a result of smear ghosts or an insufficiently high video-frequency response....

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

Spatial resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in an image or a spatial dataset. It is a measure of the...

This results from the simultaneous absorption of two photons, each having half the energy needed for excitation and...

An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea...

Radiation similar in origin to spontaneous emission but determined by the presence of other radiation having the same...

Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of...

A lidar (light detection and ranging) technique used in pollution monitoring. Two light beams are emitted simultaneously,...

A step-by-step method of reducing the amount of data in a digital video signal to transmit or store a high-quality image....

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

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

A still or motion-picture camera designed to photograph through a microscope. Photomicrographic equipment usually contains a...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, single-stranded RNA molecules, typically consisting of about 19 to 24 nucleotides,...

The photographic record of the diffracted beams formed when heterogeneous x-rays emerging from a pinhole or slit impinge...

A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that...

In optics, the geometrical form of an optical surface.

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

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

Ray tracing is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a scene....

In an optical waveguide, a ray for which geometric optics would predict total internal reflection at the core boundary, but...

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

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather...

The theorem stating that, when the sampling period in a recorded sample hologram is matched to the object spectrum, the...

Wide-field, low-magnification device that consists of two compound microscopes focused on a single object, producing an...

The array of methods used in the transmission and reception of pictures and images with a three-dimensional appearance.

Broadband radiation emitted by a laser that does not transmit through the optical element. It can be removed by filtering.

The allowable departure from the given figure or geometrical form. It may be described in terms of fringes or wavelengths.

An imaging system that uses a mosaic of tiny light-sensitive semiconductors (phototransistors) to produce individual outputs...

A solid-state video detector consisting of a single row of light-sensitive semiconductor devices, used in linear-array...

1. A polariscope consisting of a Savart plate and a tourmaline plate analyzer, and used to produce parallel color fringes by...

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

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

An oscilloscope used to survey the waveform of a video signal.

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

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

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced...

The use of photographic recording equipment to measure radiant energy. With this procedure, many measurements of radiant...

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

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

A whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is...

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

That property of a substance that determines that all components of volume are the same in composition and optical...

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

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

A wireless stereo imaging device used in conjunction with a monitor to produce a virtual interactive environment. Liquid...

A camera with two taking lenses and synchronized shutters. Two images are recorded simultaneously on separate frames,...

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

A thin film of absorbing or nonabsorbing layers in which the absorption of radiation at any point is directly proportional...

Photogrammetry is a technique used to obtain accurate three-dimensional measurements of objects and environments through the...

A radiation source that, unlike the point source, can be resolved by the naked eye into a geometrical image.

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced,...

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to...

Change of the spatial distribution of a beam of radiation when it interacts with a surface or a heterogeneous medium, in...

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

A two-flux theory in which the radiation is assumed to be composed of two oppositely directed radiation fluxes through a...

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...

Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...

A gauge designed to measure the degree of vacuum in an evacuated vessel. A simple U-tube containing mercury is adequate for...

Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It...

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

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

A fiber optic connector or splice that mates two multifiber cables, optically aligning all of the individual fibers...

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

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...

A system consisting of two or more Geiger-Müller counters, connected in coincidence with their centers on an axis. The only...

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

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

An instrument used to record the emittance or reflectance of an object by scanning with discrete spectral resolution over a...

A rangefinder similar to a pair of binoculars with a long base, a dot or other wander mark provided in each eyepiece field,...

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous...

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

A type of video signal in which the luminance and chrominance portions of the signal, or the luma and chroma, have been...

A system composed of a prism spectroscope and compound microscope to provide the visual comparison of two spectra...

A wave that is guided by the interface between two different media or by a refractive index gradient in the medium. The...

An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by...

A filter that passes a series of wavelength regions that are at equal distances from one another, such that its output...

Extraction of three-dimensional measurements from a stereo pair of photographs.

In microscopy, the measured distance between theoretical parallel lines that are drawn tangent to the particle profile and...

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

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

Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared...

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

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

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

Photolithography is a key process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and...

The transparent fluid that fills the portion of the eye between the cornea and the eye lens (the anterior chamber).

A finite version of Shannon's sampling theorem that states that a class of functions can be reconstructed exactly by a...

A device that produces brief flashes of light for observing the behavior of an object during a short interval. One of the...

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

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

A device in which slab geometry internally compensates for thermal-optic distortion; the solid host material -- glass or...

Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called...

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

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to...

1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...

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

A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces...

A small instrument containing a picture support and a pair of magnifying lenses so arranged that the left eye sees only the...

Mathematically defined as the product of etendue (or throughput) and the square of the refractive index, the optical extent...

A spectrometric instrument that detects radiation simultaneously in multiple channels, sorts it spectrally from the deep...

Although low in sensitivity (approximately 10-7 m for helium-neon lasers), this holographic technique permits quantitative...

A theoretical instrument conceived of as a box that receives a beam of radiation of any arbitrary polarization angle and...

Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and...

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

Remote inspection refers to the process of inspecting, evaluating, or monitoring assets, equipment, infrastructure, or...

The simultaneous collection of two or more signals at a single location. In a digital computer, it refers to the number of...

Characteristic of deflected light power defined as the quadratic invariant function of the video signal amplitude.

A wideband amplifier used to process video or picture information.

A type of geometrical distortion that brings about a trapezoidal display of a nominally rectangular picture. Usually...

An electron tube having two electron guns, one on each side of the storage medium, to encode the information onto the...

Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least...

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

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...

In a medium of constant refractive index, the product of the geometrical distance and the refractive index.

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or...

The transparent fluid that fills the portion of the eye between the eye lens and the retina (the posterior chamber).

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

A rangefinder used to determine the height or altitude of aerial targets by means of optical triangulation. The device...

The perpendicular orientation of the molecular axes of the nematic molecules in a nematic crystal, relative to the electrode...

An ultrafast laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of...

Vision in depth of three dimensions as a result of the spacing of the eyes. This spacing allows the eyes to see objects from...

A solid with a structure that exhibits a basically symmetrical and geometrical arrangement. A crystal may already possess...

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into...

A technical specification for a consumer product drawn up by Sony and Philips. CD/I combines audio, video and text recorded...

The decrease in the energy of a photoelectric emission as a result of the simultaneous incidence of radiation having lower...

Bohr's formulation that every new theoretical principle must correspond to the salient classical predecessor. The principle...

A desklike apparatus with an opal glass surface illuminated from beneath by fluorescent tubes. It is equipped with roll...

The addition to the information signal in communications of redundant bits that enable the originally encoded message to be...

A method of lasing in which free electrons in a laser-produced plasma collide with neonlike ions to excite electrons to...

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

An instrument used for video or computer data storage in which a laser optical head is used to write digital information...

In aerial photography, the geometric method of indicating the three-dimensional location of ground points from a pair of...

The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or...

A set of international standards by which a single telecommunications channel is used to transmit voice and data...

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

A method of scanning in which a frame transfer device produces a continuous video image of a moving object by means of a...

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...

The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and...

X-rays of one frequency or a narrow band of frequencies.

A regular, periodic, geometric array of points corresponding to the positions of the atoms in a perfect crystal.

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

A complicated constant linked with the electron theory of the Faraday and Kerr effect. It demonstrates a specific value for...

A device with a limited number of possible output values (sometimes able to be selected) that can translate an incoming...

A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...

A projector designed to give each of the observer's eyes its own disparate image.

Calculated at a given point in a medium as the instantaneous pressure at that point in the presence of a sound wave, minus...

The photographic recordformed in macrophotography in which the size of the small nearby object at theimage plane is the same...

Totally coherent radiation is produced by a purely monochromatic point source. In the real world the energy will have a...

CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...

A geometric representation of a light path through an optical device; a line normal to the wavefront indicating the...

The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.

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

A tool made by imbedding small particles of diamond in the working edge. In the optical field, the most commonly used...

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

A monitoring technique used to measure the oxygen saturation levels in the brains of patients, commonly in operating room...

A rigid medium, generally a polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information (such...

A design for bent crystal monochromators in which spacing is constant along any circular arc terminating at the two foci and...

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

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their...

Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with...

In the spectral sense, an optical source that emits one or more spectrally narrow lines as opposed to a continuous spectrum....

A cold-cathode tube containing neon and designed to visually determine a potential difference or field.

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...

A concept used for purposes of preliminary calculations and analysis. In theory it is a lens whose axial thickness is zero.

The first nonlinear theory in plasma physics that details the time and space evolution of plasma wave instability from a...

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

A mathematical transformation used in image and video compression that changes two-dimensional representation of data into...

Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...

A homogeneous solid solution with crystal lattice sites occupied, at random, by the molecules or ions of two or more...

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

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...

Radiation emitted when a quantum mechanical system drops spontaneously from an excited level to a lower level. This...

The graph of the oscillating variations composing the wave of a video signal.

The emission of gas or de-aeration due to thermal variations and often occurring in a vacuum. In a cleanroom, contamination...

Spontaneous changes to the visual system making it more or less sensitive to light.

A compact high-pressure light source in which an electrical discharge between electrodes spaced no more than 12 mm apart...

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated...

A method used to approximate the values of the homogeneous second derivatives at each iteration in the course of lens design...

A term applied to the recording of video images by means of magnetic tape or disc, so that the image's record can be played...

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

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be...

A cathode-ray tube that generates symbols for use in other displays. The tube operates by scanning specific characters on...

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

Interruption in the normal flow of a plasma or fluid characterized by sharp rises in velocity, temperature and pressure. As...

Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...

The use of a specialized optical microscope designed to provide a more three-dimensional view of a sample. Stereomicroscopy...

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

A disc whose surface contains recorded digital data at high-packing densities arranged in concentric rings. The data,...

A theoretical, ideal lens capable of producing perfect images. Used as a lens design and analysis tool to image collimated...

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...

The point on a cutting line that will become the geometrical center of the cut lens.

1. The grinding or edging of a lens so that the geometrical center and optical center do not coincide. 2. The shifting of an...

In image processing, a device that transforms the digital data into an analog video image that can be viewed on a monitor or...

1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. ...

A theoretical analysis of radiation loss from planar optical waveguides due to scattering by surface irregularities/surface...

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

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

The sunlight that extends to the earth after scattering from other solar bodies, mostly from meteorite dust of radii...

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...

An optical system that is corrected chromatically for three colors simultaneously.

A type of glass optical fiber that provides low pulse dispersion over a broad portion of the light spectrum and as a result...

Metamerism that occurs when the geometry of illumination or viewing is changed.

Calculations of lens aberrations whereby the first two terms of the series expansion are the only ones employed....

The superposition of satellite or aerial images with a map in order to process and remove distortion. Uses reference points...

An electron lens consisting of a homogeneous axial electric field and a magnetic field used in high-quality image tubes for...

The science of producing, recording, storing, transmitting and displaying visual images by any system (photographic, video,...

Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation...

Broadening of a laser's spectral linewidth when the resonance frequencies of the atoms (or molecules) of the medium are not...

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...

The maximum distance at which the stereoscopic effect may be observed. With respect to the unaided human eye, it has been...

A method of growing single crystals in which atoms and molecules from gaseous organic compounds interact and form a layer on...

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

The use of retroreflective projection technology (RPT) to project a background image onto a masked object, such as a vehicle...

The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...

A fiber optic component or system designed in such a way that it can be operated by people without specialized knowledge of...

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

A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...

Electric polarization characterized by homogeneous polar dielectrics and ascribed to the position of the permanent molecular...

The stereo image that is recorded by the lenticular, stereo photographic process.

Data gathered by a facsimile system and converted into graphic, readable form; generally used in meteorology. Also known as...

The elimination of gases from the surfaces of a vacuum system by heating the surfaces when the pumping phase is occurring.

A kinescope used to survey the details of television video transmission.

Glass consisting of almost pure silicon dioxide (SiO2). Also called vitreous silica. Frequently used in optical fibers and...

RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is...

Low Earth orbit (LEO) refers to a region in space that is relatively close to Earth's surface, typically characterized by...

A contact tip made of artificial sapphire (AlO2) that allows surgeons to use laser power to cut and coagulate tissue...

A ruggedized scintillation counter used in oil well logging. The cylindrical housing contains a gamma ray source, a...

The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive...

The theory established by Christian J. Doppler in 1842 that states that the rate of change in distance between a perceiver...

The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference...

A binocular microscope designed for the viewing of stereo pairs. As these stereoscopic image pairs are seen through a...

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

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

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

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...

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

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

A type of stereoscopic photography in which the distance between the two view points is greater than the average...

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

Electron lens consisting of an homogeneous axial electric field.

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

A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...

The discernment of depth or apparent difference in distance that causes the object to stand out from its background because...

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained with a Fourier transform spectrometer when detector noise prevails, which exceeds...

An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently...

The direct appreciation of the distance between a given object and the observer, or between the front and back of a solid...

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

A type of thermoset rubber used to jacket fiber optic cables, including those used in outdoor military installations.

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

A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.

Laser surgery refers to a medical procedure in which a laser, or focused beam of light, is used as a precision tool to cut,...

The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as...

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

An inspection device in which the profile of a mechanical part is projected onto a ground-glass screen at a precisely known...

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

A method of data multiplexing that can provide large, instantaneous bandwidths for busy traffic while permitting slow...

In laser welding or heat treating, the instantaneous laser beam power per unit area. This parameter is key in determining...

In a camera, the movement of one or more lenses behind the front lens, rather than of the front lens itself, to bring the...

Technique that provides two stereographic views of an object that are larger than the object itself, by means of mutually...

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

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...

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

The broadening of a laser's line width in a way that affects every atom (or molecule), and thus the whole system, in the...

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

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

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...

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

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

The indistinct, less luminous portion lying immediately outside an electric arc whose spectrum often differs from that of...

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

Image processing peripheral that converts video images from cameras into digital format and transfers these digital images...

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

High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous...

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...

High dynamic range (HDR) refers to a technology that allows for a broader and more dynamic range of luminosity in visual...

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

The lowest excitation power level at which a laser's output is mainly the result of stimulated emission rather than...

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

For each mode in an optical waveguide, the term used to describe the process by which an electromagnetic signal is distorted...

An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously...

A mode that is confined by virtue of a lower-index medium surrounding the cladding. Cladding modes, in the terminology of...

In data communications, the simultaneous operation of a circuit in both directions is known as full duplex; if only one...

A television system in which the images produced appear three-dimensional.

A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A...

A gauge designed to measure high degrees of vacuum. It consists of a glass bulb attached to the vacuum vessel, the...

A spectroscopic technique used to display the intensity of an optical pulse as functions of time and frequency...

The process by which the raster beam in a video tube is cut off during the retracing and sync periods.