Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new photons at integer multiples of the frequency of the incoming photons. These new photons have energies (and thus...

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

A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions...

A cathode-ray tube, driven by a computer, that receives impulses of information from the computer and displays it in a...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects...

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...

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

A two-dimensional scanning process, in which a slow sector scan, propagated in one direction, is superimposed at right...

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

In a lens, the square of the radius of its aperture divided by the product of the focal length and the wavelength. It...

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

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

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

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

A defect of a binocular instrument causing two images to be seen separately instead of being fused. It is caused when the...

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

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

Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system...

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...

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

The impurity added to a substance to produce desired properties in the substance.

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

In Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), an incident photon (usually laser light) interacts with acoustic phonons in a...

1. A solid figure whose base is a circle and whose sides taper upward evenly to a point or apex. Light rays diverging from...

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

Hydrophilic is a term used to describe substances or materials that have an affinity for water. The word hydrophilic comes...

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

The forming of a clear silhouette of an object by placing a light source behind it. Used in machine vision when surface...

The color process that is used to form positive color cine films by dye transfer or imbibition, based on the use of separate...

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

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

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

Machinery used to grind and finish a component, such as a lens or prism, to a desired precision. Usually such machines carry...

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...

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

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern...

A brightness, superimposed on the image of the retina, that decreases its contrast and that often results in decreased...

An impurity in a material that is capable of inducing electrical conduction in that material by transferring an electron to...

A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and...

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

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

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

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

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides...

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

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

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

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...

In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that transforms pixel brightness and contrast through use of...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...

A photodetector composed of a semiconductor material whose responsive properties can be altered by the addition of...

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

Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...

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

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

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

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

Solar radiation intensity existing in free space at the mean solar distance of the Earth. Commonly expressed in g cal...

The progressive defocusing of a cathode-ray tube display image that occurs when the deflected electron beam impinges on the...

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

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...

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

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

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

An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...

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

The spot illuminated on a cathode-ray tube by the initial impact of the scanning ray and the screen.

The capacity of a chiral substance such as a crystal or molecule to rotate the plane of polarized light that is transmitted...

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

A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential...

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

The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...

Optical glass containing zirconium fluoride that results in special characteristics such as improved transmission.

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

A signal-averaging device that improves signal-to-noise ratio by comparing a sampled signal with a time-delayed form of...

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

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical...

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...

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

A scale attached to a microscope eyepiece that is seen superimposed on the image and that is used to measure the dimensions...

A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its...

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

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

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

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

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

A laser having a lasing material that is a fluorescing organic dye. Depending on the dye used, it can produce emission in...

A technique for obtaining improved resolution of images produced by large telescopes and distorted by the effects of...

An optical system that superimposes a synthetic display providing navigational or weapon-aiming information on a pilot's or...

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

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

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

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

Rockwell hardness (Rc) refers to a method for measuring the hardness of a material, primarily metals, using an indentation...

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

A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and may appear...

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

A photomask, also known simply as a mask or reticle, is a key component in the photolithography process used in...

Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...

An optical recording technique that uses light source(s), a beamsplitting cube, light detector(s) and an optical fiber...

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby the processing elements are directed by a single, central...

In interferometry, the result of superimposing two wavefronts of identical shape, yielding a uniform intensity interference...

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

The photographic recording of a visible image formed by the impact of invisible radiation on a fluorescent screen.

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

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

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

An imaging process in which the single opening of a simple pinhole camera is replaced with many openings called,...

A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It...

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and...

A pair of stars (double star) that can be seen separately with a telescope, generally by setting a filar micrometer for the...

A hologram imprinted on plastic or another medium; e.g., those commonly found on credit cards.

Two simple meniscus lenses arranged symmetrically on either side of the aperture stop, providing reduced coma, lateral color...

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

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

A fixed-focus camera designed to record the ink impression of fingerprints that have been impressed on a card or form for...

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

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

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

1. A measure of absorbed dose, equal to the energy imparted by ionizing radiation to a mass of matter corresponding to 1 J...

Two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) is a nonlinear optical method that allows imaging of biological cells and living...

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

Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...

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

A variation of tomography, which is a means of visualizing any one of a large set of parallel planes in the patient. A...

An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...

Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently...

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

An eyepiece located at the near end of the microscope tube. It often is a simple Huygens eyepiece, but compensating and...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each...

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

The lens located at the object end of a microscope tube. A wide range of objectives is available, including simple...

A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This...

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

A device for obtaining very low crosstalk in a crosspoint by arranging two simple switches along different arms of a passive...

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

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

Impurity in a semiconductor or any other electroluminescent device capable of inducing hole conduction and accepting a...

The use of lasers in tailoring of such components as thin-film resistors. The process improves speed and accuracy.

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

A crimped metal cylinder that holds the connector to the cable through the cable's strength member.

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

The simplest lens in which all primary aberrations may be corrected. It consists of two positive crown elements on either...

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

A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...

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

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

A system that uses a continuous-wave laser to measure the velocity of an object by focusing the laser beam on the object,...

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

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...

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

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...

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

A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each...

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

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

Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...

The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...

A lens derived from the Cooke triplet anastigmat, but with one of the crown elements split in two, resulting in improved...

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...

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

A telescopic eyepiece comprising five or six simple lenses in the form of three doublets or two doublets and a singlet.

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

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

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

An analytical technique used to determine, identify and localize impending malfunctions. It is based upon quantitative and...

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such...

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

Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) refers to a medical procedure used in the treatment of coronary artery disease....

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...

In optics, the term denoting the lack of a fixed phase relationship between two waves. If two incoherent waves are...

The radiation emitted in semiconductors when electrons in the conduction band recombine with holes in the valence band. If...

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

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser 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 image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...

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

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

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

A simple electrostatic lens with a focus controlled by a single potential difference.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The intermolecular attraction between two surfaces, as between a substrate and a coating; it is an important factor in the...

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

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

1. The angle between two vectors that represent two simple periodic quantities that vary sinusoidally and that have the same...

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

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

The effect in which photons are absorbed and excite the electrons; the electrons move from the valence band to the...

The process of heating and slowly cooling a solid material, like glass or metal, to stabilize its thermal, electrical or...

An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...

The use of a small ultrastable master oscillator (a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser) to achieve single-frequency operation of a...

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen chemical elements found in the Earth's crust, characterized by their...

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

A flexible display refers to a type of electronic visual display that is designed to be bendable, foldable, or rollable,...

A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather...

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or...

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing...

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

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

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

Pennwalt's trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables where low smoke...

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

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

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...

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

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

The simplest, most inexpensive type of camera, which is shaped as an oblong or square box, containing the simplest lens,...

In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the system bandwidth rather than the amplitude of the signal.

The simplest method of transmission on a local area network. The entire bandwidth of the cable is used to transmit a single...

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

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

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

In optics, the production of maxima and minima by the superimposition of two sets of interference fringes from light of two...

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

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

Reactive evaporation refers to a process in thin-film deposition where a material is deposited onto a substrate through...

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

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

A device having a pair of decentered lenses, one for each eye, that focuses on a single object as a magnifier. It is often...

The emission of an electron from a surface that occurs when a photon impinges upon the surface and is absorbed. This effect...

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....

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

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

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

A technique of using dyes during endoscopy to improve tissue differentiation. Dyes such as methylene blue, Toluidine blue...

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

An image that can be studied three-dimensionally through a pair of complementary color filters composed of two superimposed...

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

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

A scattering photometer using scattered light in the solid angle 4.51+0 19° with respect to the forward direction, and...

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

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

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

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

Micro-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to...

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

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for...

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

A radiation detector with its active medium mounted within a lens that focuses the radiation signal. The improvement in...

Area in which laser operation occurs and therefore safety requirements are met and regulations are implemented. Lasers...

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

The introduction of a filter into an imaging system to implement a phase contrast for an intensity mapping of a pure phase...

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

Equipment that supports microscopic live-cell imaging by managing the gas, media perfusion, temperature and other factors to...

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

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

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

A single-particle scattering technique in which an incident laser beam is tightly focused by means of lenses to yield a...

A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber, defined as multiple surface irregularities across the fiber surface. A...

Computerized lens design algorithm that permits the lens MTF characteristic to be included and controlled during the...

A position inside a crystal lattice that is not one of the proper lattice sites in the crystal. Impurity ions of the proper...

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

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

High-voltage, fast-discharge circuit named after its inventor, Erwin Marx. Its capacitors are charged in parallel and...

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

Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a...

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

An eyepiece having a special prism arrangement linked to a micrometer screw to allow reading of the angular relations...

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

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

Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...

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

A fiber optic transmission system in which data can go in only a single direction.

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

The superimposition of a pilot object on each hologram. The fixed relative position of the scanning and pilot beam during...

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

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

A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...

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

The study and photographing of microscope specimens in ultraviolet light; using an optical microscope containing fluorite...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly...

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

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

1. The use of an electronic microdensitometer to measure points of equal density on a photographic deposit. 2. A technique...

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

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

The properties exhibited by a semiconductor as the result of its modification by imperfections and impurities in the crystal.

A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of...

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

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

A 45-90-45° reflecting prism whose surfaces form the 90° angle reflecting the light beam through a total angle of 180°. The...

The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects...

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

The placement of a device or an additional circuit into a feedback control system to improve its response in relation to a...

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

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by...

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

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

An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to...

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

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

Photoconductivity due to the addition of impurities or external causes.

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a...

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

A simple form of astronomical telescope that uses a fixed objective and a focusable eyepiece. The objective forms an...

An interferometer that uses a laser as its light source. The purely monochromatic nature of the laser results in improved...

The limitation on performance imposed by the distortion of a received signal rather than its amplitude or power.

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

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

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

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....

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

1. An undulation or vibration; a form of movement by which all radiant energy of the electromagnetic spectrum is estimated...

The smallest angle through which light is bent by an optical element or system. In a prism, the angle of deviation is a...

A small television tube originally developed for closed-circuit television. It is about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches...

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of...

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

Acronym for profile resolution obtained by excitation. In its simplest form, probe involves the overlap of two...

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

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

An impurity-doped silicon detector array sensitive to long infrared wavelengths, installed in optical collecting systems...

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

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

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

The superimposing of holographic pages in a thick, erasable storage material by changing the reference and object beams....

A mixture of ionized gas and metal vapor generated by impingement of the laser beam onto a material being welded or a weld...

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

An approach to character recognition based on the structure of the character to be identified (number of straight lines,...

A laser device used to establish a location or target usually for detection by an impact source e.g. missiles and guided...

A filter designed to improve contrast in an imaging system. For visual and black and white photosystems, a yellow filter is...

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

The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given...

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

A lens similar to the Cooke triplet anastigmat, with the rear crown achromatized for improved coverage and definition. It is...

The improper exposure of a radiation-sensitive medium that results when there is too much radiation exposing the medium, or...

An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....

An electrophoretic display, often referred to as an electronic paper display or e-paper display, is a type of electronic...

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

A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....

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

One area of image enhancement, accomplished by spatial filtering schemes, that usually involves attenuation of phase changes...

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

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

Operation in which the dispersion of a pulse limits the distance between repeaters in optical systems. Waveguide and...

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

A phage, short for bacteriophage, is a type of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Phages are composed of...

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

A technique that combines two or more imaging processes in order to minimize the disadvantages within each of the...

In optics and photonics, "phase" refers to a property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the position...

A device that provides simple and reliable laser power and energy measurement. Essentially a heat flux sensor producing an...

A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared...

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

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

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

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

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

A beamsplitter is an optical device for dividing a beam into two or more separate beams. A simple beamsplitter may be a very...

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

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

A device that couples a light source to an optical fiber by projecting an image of the source and the fiber core onto a...

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of...

The interaction of superimposed light from two separate sources that results in a combined intensity that is less than the...

Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and...

A mass spectrometer utilizing both radial electrostatic and magnetic field analyzers to improve the focusing and increase...

An alien, electrically charged atomic system in a solid; an ion substituted for the constituent atom or ion in a crystal...

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

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

Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision,...

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

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...

Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in...

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

A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...

A phenomenon in which high optical power, encountering an imperfection in an optical fiber, destroys the fiber's core and...

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

In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs...

A surface heat-treating process that produces a highly stressed surface. In case-hardening of glass, a plate of glass is...

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

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an advanced optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the...

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

A short focal length (less than five inches) positive lens used to produce a magnified image of the object being viewed....

Fluorescence formed when atoms of one element collide with excited atoms of another.

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

Any of the constants that relate the tendency of the director to remain parallel to restoring torques throughout the media....

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

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

Visible laser radiation, often optically expanded and collimated, used to induced temporary blindness from within a walking...

The splitting or shifting of spectral lines or energy levels caused by the application of a strong transverse electrical...

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

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

A term describing a substance that is impervious to light; the characteristic of a substance that has no luminous...

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

A rapid roughing process for the quick removal of glass, the first step in manufacture of a curved lens surface. It is...

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

A special form of microscope that utilizes interference for observing and measuring the phase and optical thickness in...

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

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical...

1. A single unit in a device for changing radiant energy to electrical energy or for controlling current flow in a circuit....

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

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....

A reflection grating is an optical component that consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel reflecting surfaces or...

Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal...

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

Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...

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

Qualitatively, the inverse of the amount of velocity produced by the application of a sinusoidal force to a system;...

A reticle pattern in a surveying instrument consisting of parallel lines that can be superimposed on a calibrated rod,...

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

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

A defect on or in an optical element that does not appreciably impair the function of the surface.

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

In optics, the mechanical tension, compression or shear in optical glass due to internal stress caused by improper cooling...

A type of additive color photography using a lenticular structure impressed on a film base and a camera lens with a filter...

Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...

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

The parallel resistance and capacitance appearing between the active guard ring junctions in a silicon photodiode.

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

Description of a particle that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.

An instrument that is used to chart x-ray diffraction patterns, such as an x-ray spectrometer having photographic or other...

A vacuum tube in which a magnetic field is superimposed onto the tube's electrical field. When the two fields are aligned,...

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

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

Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the...

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

Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within...

A signal-averaging technique that improves signal-to-noise ratio by comparing a sampled signal with a reference signal...

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

Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called...

A method of improving the signal-to-noise ratio of an interferogram by adding another interferogram to it.

Direct conversion of a photon from one wavelength to a lower energy photon of another wavelength(s) due to inelastic...

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

Measures the refractive indices axially from the fiber profile. Microscopy technique provides an interferogram with high...

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

A document-transmitting process that uses a cylinder that rotates the document to be scanned and detected by a photoelectric...

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

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy...

The mathematical formula that proves that any linear operator for which the impulse is known can be wholly characterized...

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

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

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

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

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

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

In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal...

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

Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...

A lens that is implanted within the eye to replace the eye lens, which has been removed because of cataract or other defect.

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

A frame taken with a CCD camera over an exposure length of zero seconds with the lens cap on or the shutter closed and no...

An imperfection in optical glass consisting of a distinct streak of transparent material having a slightly different...

In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the amplitude of a received signal rather than distortion.

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...

Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....

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

Optical glasses containing the oxides of rare earths such as lanthanum to impart a very high refractive index combined with...

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

An optical interference technique widely utilized as a method of nondestructive testing when determining the ray deflection...

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

A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value,...

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

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

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

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

A method used in imaging to detect subtle differences between two apparently similar pictures. It can be achieved by...

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

A device similar to distributed feedback lasers in construction and operation, but in which the period grating that produces...

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly...

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

Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...

Property of a surface which, because of directional reflection, is responsible for the degree to which reflected highlights...

Light diffracted by a solid (usually quartz in crystal or fused form) traversed by acoustic waves. If the ultrasonic...

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

The near-point distance of the normal eye. The value of 10 in. or 25 cm is normal. This value is used in evaluating the...

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

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

A photon sieve is an optical device used in the field of optics and imaging. It's designed to focus and shape light,...

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

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