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Alluxa - Optical Coatings LB 8/23
ions Dictionary Terms

triac
A semiconductor device that functions as an electrically controlled switch for AC loads.
multispectral imaging
Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within...
spectral repeatability
Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...
mode beating
In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal...
photonics contract manufacturing
Photonics contract manufacturing refers to the outsourcing of the production of photonics-related components, devices, or...
spectroradiometer
A spectroradiometer is a device used to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths across the electromagnetic...
CMOS camera
A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to...
cleanroom
An area in which airborne particulates can be monitored and controlled so that given size particles do not exceed a...
artificial radioactivity
Radioactivity formed by the bombardment of stable elements by either neutrons or high-energy, charged particles under...
anamorphic distortion
A type of distortion in which the magnification varies in different orientations, the directions of maximum and minimum...
emission spectroscopy
A study of the energies and wavelengths of radiation emitted by atoms and molecules when particular physical conditions are...
COMINT
An acronym for communications intelligence, referring to the collection of communications signals in the VHF and UHF...
donpisha
A type of asynchronous shutter device that is used particularly in CCD sensor applications to capture an image of a...
mean spherical intensity
The average intensity of a light source measured over all directions.
pixel
A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a...
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...
exciter filter
In ultraviolet and fluorescence photography, the term applied to the filter used in the photographic system and with the...
optical coherence tomography
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture...
optical tweezers
Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic...
free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the...
metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...
quartz plate
A crystalline-quartz plate designed according to specifications but having its two major faces parallel.
paraxial ray
A ray that behaves according to paraxial equations; one that lies close to and almost parallel to the optical axis.
machine vision lighting
Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision,...
gas discharge
The conduction of electricity in a gas as a result of the ions generated by collisions between electrons and gas molecules.
molded lens
A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such...
optoacoustic
Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves...
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...
Fresnel diffraction
1. Also known as near-field diffraction. The field of radiation sent through an aperture in an absorbing screen at large...
circular dichroism
Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric)...
heavy seeds
A condition in which the solid inclusions within a glass blank are very numerous, such as 25 or more to the square inch.
optical grating
An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced,...
half-shade device
A device for forming at least two adjacent areas of polarized light. The angle between the directions of vibration of the...
GaAlAs laser
A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic...
magnetic rotation spectroscopy
Technique in which the polarization rotation of light, and its relationship to the magnetic field strength can be analyzed...
tip-enhanced Raman scattering
Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial...
gram positive
Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called...
local oscillator laser
In coherent optical communications systems, a laser used at the receiving end to produce a steady wave that is combined with...
dielectric constant
A number that indicates the magnitude of the shift in a solid of positive and negative charges in opposite directions when a...
calorific rays
Name originally given to the sun's infrared radiation by Sir William Herschel in his Philosophical Transactions of 1800.
Nicol prism
A prism invented by William Nicol in 1828 that is made of calcite, the end faces of which are ground to an angle of 68°...
optical repeater
In an optical fiber or waveguide communications system, an optoelectronic device or module that receives an optical signal,...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...
symmetrical lens
A lens system made up of two sets of similar lenses, each of which compensates for many of the aberrations produced by the...
environmental parameters
Potential hazards to a system's application and installation, including temperature variations, chemical reactivity,...
thermogram
Also known as analog thermogram. The resultant photograph, illustrating, in tones ranging from black to white, the spatial...
trichroism
The characteristic of displaying three colors when observed in as many separate directions.
pinhole eyepiece
A type of eyepiece, or the modification of an eyepiece, in which a small hole, without a lens, functions as the eye lens;...
extrinsic properties
The properties exhibited by a semiconductor as the result of its modification by imperfections and impurities in the crystal.
laser isotope separation
A process of isolation of various atom vapor ions by means of tuning a laser source. For example, laser enrichment is...
structured light
The projection of a plane or grid pattern of light onto an object. It can be used for the determination of three-dimensional...
histology
Histology is the branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and organs...
ultraviolet reflectance
Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...
wave plate
An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually...
area scan
Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a...
digital image processing
The technique by which an analog image is converted by any of several means into a finite array of points, each represented...
orthonormalization
Optimization method used in optical design computer programs that employs a variable-by-variable approach to construct new...
carbonization
Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the...
scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials...
photoplethysmography
Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique used to detect changes in blood volume in tissues. It...
detector array
A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format....
gyroscopic camera mount
A mount that uses a floating suspension and a motor-driven gyroscope to keep a motion picture or still camera at a set angle...
Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor
The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....
spectrometric oil analysis
An analytical technique used to determine, identify and localize impending malfunctions. It is based upon quantitative and...
laser marking
Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or...
waveguide nonreciprocal device
A device that consists of two types of mode converters, one of which must be magnetic. It is nonreciprocal because the...
ospin
Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well...
bioluminescence
Heatless light emissions from living organisms caused by the combination of oxygen and pigments such as luciferin.
dispersion-shifted fiber
A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion,...
excess noise factor
A factor, F, indicating the increase in shot noise in an avalanche photodiode as compared with the ideal multiplier, which...
aspheric mirror
An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...
near-infrared camera
A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the...
spot diagram
A method of evaluating image quality whereby a large number of rays are traced through a lens from a single object point,...
photodynamic inactivation
Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...
free radicals
Short-lived molecular or atomic particles, with an unpaired electron, that play an important part in many photochemical...
electron spectroscopy
The theory and interpretation of spectra produced by the electron emissions of substances after their irradiation by x-rays.
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light...
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...
laser lithotripsy
Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA...
fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna
A fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna (FCPA) is a type of optoelectronic device that combines a photoconductive antenna...
long-wavelength system
In fiber optic communications systems, generally one that operates between 1000 and 1700 nm.
modulation bandwidth
The highest frequency at which a laser diode can be driven and still be modulated acceptably that further results in the...
data bus
A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are...
transfer blocking
A process used to control thickness and parallelism precisely during the production of plane-parallel plates. Elements are...
mosaic mirror
A large telescope mirror fabricated from several smaller sections.
geometric image
The position and shape of the image of a point source, as predicted by geometric optics alone. The geometric image is to be...
cesium-antimonide photocathode
A photocathode that exhibits maximum sensitivity in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. The sensitivity is...
spatial light interference microscopy
Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
light fidelity
LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to...
reflectance confocal microscopy
Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, in vivo imaging...
vesicular image
An image with variations in density due to the differential scattering ability of microscopic bubbles in a transparent layer.
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...
fiber distributed data interface
A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and...
reagent
A reagent is a substance or compound that is used in a chemical reaction to bring about a specific transformation or to...
high-loss fiber
Optical fiber in which the attenuation exceeds the normally acceptable level for long-haul or data communications use.
fifth-order aberrations
Secondary aberrations remaining after the primary (Seidel) aberrations have been corrected.
multiplet
A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in...
holography
Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and...
Murty interferometer
A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...
light diffusion
Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...
linear image sensor
A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....
ring-laser gyroscope
A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It...
blur circle
A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not...
Christiansen-effect filter
A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion;...
mode-locked lasers
Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds,...
surveyor's level
A small telescope mounted on a tripod and free to rotate about a vertical axis. A spirit level is mounted over the telescope...
mercury arc
An electric arc that is formed in mercury vapor through which an electric current flows. The intensity of the illumination...
x-ray astronomy
The study of the celestial bodies, relative to x-ray emission. Satellites launched to study x-ray sources have revealed many...
hydrophilic
Hydrophilic is a term used to describe substances or materials that have an affinity for water. The word hydrophilic comes...
advanced driver assistance systems
Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) refers to a set of safety features and technologies designed to assist drivers in...
photochromic
Photochromic refers to a property exhibited by certain materials, typically organic compounds or dyes, which undergo...
light
Electromagnetic radiation detectable by the eye, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 750 nm. In photonic applications...
chemical vapor deposition equipment
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...
mixed crystal
A homogeneous solid solution with crystal lattice sites occupied, at random, by the molecules or ions of two or more...
geometric operations
In image processing, mathematical operations that change spatial geometry, as for instance scaling, translating, rotating or...
image quality
A measure of the closeness with which an optical image is capable of resembling the original object. The factors that affect...
attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy
Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples....
photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...
Kerr soliton
A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical...
electronics
That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of...
modal noise
In an optical system, noise created by mode-dependent optical losses and variations in the distribution of radiant power...
data link
The communications network between nodes of a data transmission system.
tristimulus integrator
A device used to produce numerical integrations for colorimetry.
atomic force microscope
An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials...
spectrograph
An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a...
structural color
Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the...
principal plane
In a lens or lens system, that surface at which the projections of an entering and exiting ray intersect. Also known as the...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...
synchrotron
A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...
integrated optical circuit
An optical circuit, either monolithic or hybrid, composed of active and passive components, used for coupling between...
atmospheric inhomogeneities
Localized variations in the purity and the index of refraction of the atmosphere.
entrance slit
The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...
micro-ring resonator
A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped...
quantitative phase imaging
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...
intensified charge-coupled device camera
An intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) camera is an advanced imaging device that combines the capabilities of both an...
monolithic lenslet module
An array of refractive microlenses that are round, square and hexagonal and as small as 15 µm. They are used for...
cleaning equipment
In optics, degreasers or ultrasonic arrangements used for removing pitch, cement or polishing material from lenses during...
linearity
A relationship between two variables so that when plotted on a graph they yield a straight line.
homojunction
A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities but not in their atomic or alloy...
RTSP protocol
RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is...
critical angle
The least angle of incidence at which total internal reflection takes place. The angle of incidence in a denser medium, at...
backscatter
Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the...
extinction meter
A type of exposure meter that artificially reduces the light admitted in a sequence of known fractions until a value is...
line spectrum
A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value,...
liquid crystal on silicon
Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based...
laser diode module
A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...
error correcting code
The addition to the information signal in communications of redundant bits that enable the originally encoded message to be...
measuring eyepiece
Also known as an eyepiece micrometer. A microscope eyepiece that has a finely divided scale ruled or photographed on a...
tristimulus integration
Computation of tristimulus values by integrating or summing, over the visible wavelength region, the product of the relative...
paraboloidal mirror
A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a...
noncoherent bundle
An assembly of optical fibers that will not transmit coherent images or information because the relationship of the fibers...
etaloning
Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...
radial distribution method
A statistical analysis of facts obtained when the intensity of x-ray diffraction is calculated at different angles. In this...
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...
quantum confinement
Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...
photomultiplier tube
A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely...
fiber optic spectrometer
A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to...
jig transit
An optical instrument containing a gimballed sighting telescope, used to measure angular relationships in horizontal and...
microRNA
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, single-stranded RNA molecules, typically consisting of about 19 to 24 nucleotides,...
double diffuse density
Measurement derived from calculation when incident flux of a negative is entirely diffuse and all radiation transmissions...
optical caliper
A device for measuring linear dimensions. The optical caliper generally consists of two circularly mounted mirrors whose...
convex
Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly...
ion-beam sputtering
Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It...
Fresnel reflection
Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive...
electro-optic radar
A radar system that uses electro-optic rather than microwave instrumentation and methods to perform its acquisition and...
narrow-angle dark-field illumination
An imaging system designed to highlight small deviations in a planar reflective object such as a mirror. The system can be...
optically biaxial crystal
One of a class of crystalline substances belonging to triclinic, monoclinic and orthorhombic systems that have two optic...
acousto-optic modulators and deflectors
An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate...
surface-enhanced Raman optical data storage
A technique of optical storage whereby information is encoded by molecular alterations in the interaction between the...
terahertz radiation
Electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between 300 GHz and 10 THz, and existing between regions of the electromagnetic...
Peltier cooler
A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses...
gram negative
Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...
ion emission
The ejecting of ions from the surface of a material.
automated optical inspection
Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to...
Rayleigh criterion of resolving power
When a lens system with a circular aperture is free of aberrations, the image of a point object will appear as a disc of...
phase screen
A phase screen, in the context of optics and wave optics, refers to a surface or medium that introduces a phase delay to an...
phage
A phage, short for bacteriophage, is a type of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Phages are composed of...
PIN photodiode
A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....
anamorphoscope
A cylindrical convex viewing mirror used for viewing distorted pictures formed by photographing the reflections of the...
scanning moire topography
A contour mapping technique that uses electronic scanning and sampling techniques instead of a reference grating (see moire...
microdensitometer
The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...
optical ceramics
Transparent glassy and or crystalline structured materials engineered from inorganic, non-metallic materials via various...
oleophobic
Oleophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or resist oils. The word oleophobic comes from the...
lateral extensometer
An extensometer used to measure deformations in the thickness of a plate caused by tension, compression or other stress.
graser
An acronym of gamma ray amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. It is a gamma ray laser that operates between...
optofluidics
Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems...
split-crown triplet lens
A lens derived from the Cooke triplet anastigmat, but with one of the crown elements split in two, resulting in improved...
Fresnel rhomb
A type of quarter-wave retarder in the form of a glass rhomb; light entering the retarder undergoes two total internal...
electrostatic tape camera
A camera that records its images electrostatically on plastic tape; used in situations where radiation would have an adverse...
epitaxial deposition
Epitaxial deposition is a process used in semiconductor manufacturing and materials science to grow a thin crystalline...
ephemeris
A tabulation of predicted positions that have been calculated for one or more celestial bodies or orbiting satellites.
colorimetric photometer
A photometer that uses a set of color filters to measure the intensity of light in various regions of the spectrum.
selective laser melting
Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that belongs to the powder bed...
array processor
In image processing, a specially designed programmable computer peripheral that attaches to the host system for the purpose...
long-wave infrared
Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main...
mirror blank
A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly...
polygonal mirror
A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...
collisional excitation
A method of lasing in which free electrons in a laser-produced plasma collide with neonlike ions to excite electrons to...
pathogen
A pathogen is a biological agent, such as a virus, bacterium, fungus, protozoan, or parasite, that causes disease in its...
liquid crystal
Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid...
electrostatic printer
An instrument used to print an optical image on a specially treated paper. Light and dark portions of the original image are...
ionosphere
The gas of charged particles that begins approximately 50 km above the surface of the Earth and contains a sufficient...
standard thermal profile
In infrared imaging systems used for mass screening of printed circuit boards or other quality control applications, an...
reflective spectroscopy
Reflectance spectroscopy is a technique used to analyze the reflective properties of materials across various wavelengths of...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are...
volumetric imaging
Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of...
laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy
A pump-probe technique whereby a single wavelength source may be used in order to excite a given sample to determine...
epitaxial
Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the...
diurnal phase shift
Phase shift in electromagnetic signals caused by daily variations in the ionosphere, often during sunrise or sunset.
linewidth
1. The range of frequencies or wavelengths over which radiations are absorbed or emitted in a transition between a specific...
liquid marble
Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a...
monochromator
A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of...
masks for evaporation/deposition
In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit...
nitrogen vacancy
A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces...
Casimir force
The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...
image splitting eyepiece
An eyepiece having a special prism arrangement linked to a micrometer screw to allow reading of the angular relations...
design and engineering consulting services
Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to...
optical path difference
The relative path difference (or phase shift) traveled between two rays that pass through different mediums from the same...
synchronous transmission
A mode of transmission whereby the sending and receiving stations operate continuously at a fixed relationship of phase and...
avalanche photodiode
A device that utilizes avalanche multiplication of photocurrent by means of hole-electrons created by absorbed photons. When...
isolator
In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one...
source correlation
The relationship between different wavelengths of light generated by a source, which may affect the spectral distribution of...
quenching
The inhibition or elimination of one process by another process. The stimulated emission of a laser oscillator can be...
adjacency effect
With respect to photography, the change in the density-exposure relations, for small details of the photographic image, that...
laser drill
High power laser ablation device that by pulsed operation produces holes of controllable dimension on the scale of microns....
retroreflector
A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their...
Babinet compensator
A device containing two opposed quartz wedges of equal angle, one wedge being movable along its length by a micrometer...
pulse shaping
The use of variations in the power supplied to a laser to change the shape of the output pulse. The technique is used in...
image jump
In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs...
dynamic spectroscopy
A spectroscopic technique used to display the intensity of an optical pulse as functions of time and frequency...
local area network
Data communications network in a clearly defined geographical location, and extending no more than a few miles in length. It...
neural network
A computing paradigm that attempts to process information in a manner similar to that of the brain; it differs from...
optical materials
Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...
terahertz spectrometer
A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...
plasmon ion-assisted deposition
Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production...
spectral pyrheliometer
Any pyrheliometer that has a filter placed over its sensor to limit the range of solar radiation it will detect; used to...
fluorescence
Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...
remote sensing
Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on...
laser cavity
A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined...
custom lapping and polishing services
Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional...
environmental range
The maximum to minimum range of temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration and biological conditions under which an optical...
Eberhard effect
Observed phenomenon of a small developed image with higher density than a larger image because of variation in photographic...
split-image microscope
A mask-alignment microscope used to produce and inspect microcircuits in the electronics industry. It provides flat-field,...
comparator
1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting...
moving aperture technique
Method for reducing laser speckle in which the object field comes from a real diffuse object or the reconstructed object...
q-switched operation
Q-switched operation, or q-switching, is a technique used in lasers to produce short and intense pulses of light. The term...
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for...
frequency comb
A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with...
histochemical staining
Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components...
transport theory approximations
Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least...
laser designator
A laser device used to establish a location or target usually for detection by an impact source e.g. missiles and guided...
scanning electron microscopy
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution,...
ducting
Propagation of electromagnetic waves through the Earth's atmosphere in a path that conforms to the curvature of the Earth...
vibrational transition
A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...
beacon
A device, either visual or electronic, that emits signals to identify set positions for use in the navigation of aircraft...
waveguide
A waveguide is a physical structure or device that is designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, such as radio...
low-light-level instrumentation
Instrumentation designed to permit the perception, recording or measurement of scenes under conditions of low incident...
depth perception
The direct appreciation of the distance between a given object and the observer, or between the front and back of a solid...
mass spectrometer
A device used to measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules. It utilizes the Lorentz force...
coherent radiation
Radiation in which the phase relationship between any two points in the radiation field has a constant difference, or is...
sonde
A ruggedized scintillation counter used in oil well logging. The cylindrical housing contains a gamma ray source, a...
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...
thin-film deposition equipment
Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto...
ionizing radiation
Generally, any radiation that can form ions, either directly or indirectly, while traveling through a substance.
momentum transfer
In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision...
dichroism
Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the...
bifurcated fiber
A branched fiber optic lightguide that performs both receiving and transmitting functions.
discontinuously reinforced aluminum
A composite derived from aluminum alloy powder and silicon carbide, used as an optical substrate in air- and spacecraft...
gas laser
One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although...
magnetic force microscope
A variation of the atomic force microscope that operates by scanning a tiny ferromagnetic probe (or a magnetized tip) over a...
spectral domain optical coherence tomography
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...
silicon carbide light-emitting diodes
Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...
additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional...
oscillograph
An instrument used to record rapidly varying currents or voltages. An oscillograph may consist of a cathode-ray tube...
lateral shearing interferometer
A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...
Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...
morphological processing
A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for...
piezoelectric motion systems
Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or...
optical coherence tomography imaging system
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain...
piezoresistance
Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in...
Young's modulus
The constant equal to the unit stress divided by unit deformation, relative to all values and a substance's proportional...
embedded vision
Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or...
lens testing equipment
Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...
mid-wave infrared
MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
electromagnetic theory
The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.
germicidal UV
Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) refers to a specific range of UV radiation that has disinfectant properties capable of killing...
microfluidics
Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically...
Poincaré sphere
A reference sphere used to represent all possible states of polarization. All linear polarizations will lie on the equator...
impurity level
In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...
television camera
A camera containing an electronic image sensor that converts the image to an electronic signal suitable for television...
metrology
Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement,...
ophthalmic instruments
A family of specialized instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study a patient's eyes and prescribe...
freeform mirrors
Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...
photochemical
The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...
delay line
A device used to delay transmission of a signal for functions such as memory loops, sequential processing or built-in...
phenotype
In biology, particularly genetics and evolutionary biology, the phenotype refers to the observable characteristics or traits...
mesoscope
In the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture...
solar simulator
A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for...
logic circuit
A computer circuit that supplies the action of problem-solving functions or operations.
Seebeck effect
Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct...
transverse mode
In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the...
light-activated silicon-controlled rectifier
A PN-PN device with incident light taking the place of gate current; three of the four semiconductor regions are available...
phase mask
In optics and photolithography, a phase mask refers to a device that modifies the phase of light waves passing through it....
mode hopping
Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal...
indirect illumination
The light formed by visible radiation that, in traveling from light source to object, undergoes one or more reflections. In...
synchronous optical network
A standard for fiber optic telecommunications interfaces, with a 1300-nm data link operating over single-mode fiber at data...
quantum-ehanced metrology
Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...
silver-disc pyrheliometer
An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are...
diode laser
A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light....
achromat
An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....
automatic gain control
A method of producing an essentially constant output signal from an electronic circuit despite variations in the strength of...
pushbroom scanning
Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors,...
optical filter
An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...
sapphire optical fiber
Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...
effective aperture
1. That portion of the aperture that functions to collect energy and deliver it to the final system detector. 2. For an...
femtosecond laser
A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds,...
phototheodolite
A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure...
computer-generated hologram
A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than...
thermography
Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera,...
convolutional neural network
A powerful and flexible machine-learning approach that can be used in machine vision to help solve difficult problems....
broadband filter
A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a...
Abbe condenser
A two-lens arrangement intended to image light into a microscope slide sample. The primary aberrations present are red and...
phase-shift keying
A method of coding information in a communications system where the shift in the phase of an electromagnetic wave represents...
thermophotovoltaic
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of...
lidar
Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and...
color
The attribute of visual experience that can be described as having quantitatively specifiable dimensions of hue, saturation,...
lens blank
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...
axis
A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body and indicating its center; a line so positioned that various...
scattered light filter
A specific type of filter designed to reduce the amount of light scattered by reflections from the edges of optical...
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms,...
vertical resolution
In television system specifications, the number of parallel horizontal black and white lines of equal thickness, that can be...
tissue optics
The study of the optical properties of living tissue. Increased understanding of the behavior of light in this varied,...
quantum-limited operation
Operation in which the minimum detectable signal is set because of variations in the average signal current; e.g., quantum...
internet of things
The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects...
hydroxyl ion absorption
An optical fiber's absorption of electromagnetic waves due to hydroxyl ions remaining after contact with water.
potassium titanyl phosphate
A crystalline material with a high electro-optic coefficient, capable of operating at short wavelengths, with applications...
leading edge spike
In a sequence of laser pulse emissions, the intitial pulse that often helps initiate a reaction at the target surface,...
ratiometry
Ratiometry is a technique used in various scientific fields, particularly in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, to...
vibronic transition
A type of change in the energy levels of molecules in a laser that results in lasing action. Vibronic transitions are those...
plasma laser
Operates with light collectively emitted by the recombination of free electrons and ions in the plasma state.
2D profile sensor
A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture...
lock-in amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...
activity
1. Synonymous with radioactivity. The intensity of a radioactive source illustrated as the number of atoms disintegrating in...
thermal-infrared camera
A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared...
frame rate
Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...
neuromorphic
Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
magnetic lens
An arranged series of coils, magnets or electromagnets disposed in such a way that the resulting magnetic fields generate a...
optical comparator
Typically used for the examination of manufactured or engineered parts, an optical gauging device, in which a backlight is...
spot meter
A telescopic light-sensing meter used to measure illumination levels of small regions at a distance of many feet; it is used...
exciton
An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...
plasma accelerator
A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged...
heterodyning
In optical communications, the translation of optical signals into radio signals, lowering their frequency in detection from...
parallel scanning
Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather...
photographic dosimetry
The use of photographic emulsions to detect and determine the amounts of ionizing radiation, such as x-rays and gamma rays,...
mode sweeping
A form of laser output noise that is caused by thermal, mechanical, or acoustical disturbances of the cavity length. Mode...
sensitometry
Primarily the measurement of photographic sensitivity of certain materials such as photographic film. It refers to the...
STED microscopy
STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence...
laser controlled area
Area in which laser operation occurs and therefore safety requirements are met and regulations are implemented. Lasers...
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other...
pencil beam
In astronomy, the main lobe of an antenna pattern that has a small angular extent in two mutually perpendicular directions....
mixed-signal oscilloscope
A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a...
plastic optics
Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to...
near-field region
The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an...
whole slide imaging
Whole slide imaging (WSI), also known as virtual slide microscopy or digital pathology, is a technology that involves the...
optical theorem
A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of...
Secondary Speckle Pattern
A self-interference effect that generates random patterns; secondary speckle pattern (SSP) typically occurs in diffuse...
vignetting
In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations...
scanning microdensitometer
A microdensitometer that contains a scanning stage to provide simultaneous representations of position vs. density.
virtual histology
Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological...
chromaticness
The sensations of hue and saturation, taken together, but not brightness or lightness.
Fizeau fringes
Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...
molecular motor
A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can...
modified chemical vapor deposition
Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form...
Van der Waals
Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...
straight-path approximation
The determination of axially symmetric and asymmetric refractive-index distributions by use of interferometry carried out on...
photochemistry
The study of chemical reactions stimulated by the properties of light.
cathode stream
Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge...
erbium-doped fiber amplifier
An optical fiber that can be used to amplify an optical input. Erbium rare earth ions are added to the fiber core material...
InGaAs photodiode
An InGaAs photodiode refers to a photodetector device that is constructed using a semiconductor material composed of a...
isotropic
That property of a material that determines that velocity of propagation within the material is the same for all directions.
Wollaston prism
A polarizing prism consisting of two calcite prisms cemented such that they deviate the two emerging beams (which are...
quantum sensing
Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...
third-order theory
Calculations of lens aberrations whereby the first two terms of the series expansion are the only ones employed....
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...
nodal testing
The measurement of first- and higher order properties of a lens and its formed image, including effective focal length, back...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
twin crystal
A compound crystal having two or more crystals or crystal sections that, when regularly positioned, are in reverse position...
topological photonics
Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the...
spectral signature
A spectral signature, in the context of remote sensing and spectroscopy, refers to the unique pattern or characteristic...
stereomicroscopy
The use of a specialized optical microscope designed to provide a more three-dimensional view of a sample. Stereomicroscopy...
transmitter central wavelength range
The central wavelength range of a transmitter based on the worst-case scenarios of temperature, manufacturing and other...
optically uniaxial crystal
A transparent crystalline substance in which the refractive index of the optic axis (extraordinary axis) is different from...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
interferometric modulator display
Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...
plasma noise
Introduced into the laser beam from localized fluctuations in current density within the plasma itself. These fluctuations...
crystal lattice
A regular, periodic, geometric array of points corresponding to the positions of the atoms in a perfect crystal.
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is an international standard for medical imaging created by both the...
qubit
A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...
echelle grating
A specialized form of diffraction grating consisting of assembled glass plates of equal thickness that resemble a flight of...
telescope lens
A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is...
telemeter
1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain,...
geometric optics
A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...
processed hologram
A superposition of many zone plates, each reconstructing a real and virtual point image at the appropriate locations upon...
pyramid error
Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors....
zero-order transmission grating
A polyethylene grating that transmits the long wavelengths and diffracts shorter wavelengths in controlled directions.
Dammann grating
A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...
mode partitioning
The pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in power distribution among modes of a Fabry-Perot laser, which can result in...
multiband camera
A group of four cameras loaded with different combinations of filters and film (one is usually an infrared color film) to...
rainbow hologram
Essentially, a hologram of a hologram, in which the first-generation hologram is masked with a narrow slit. During image...
photoluminescence
The state of optically excited luminescence. Luminescence refers to the light emitted by excited atoms or ions as they decay...
angle-tracking system
A system in which a sequence of direct measurements of the target position is fed into a tracking filter that may produce...
digital signal processing
Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...
single-photon emission computed tomography
A medical imaging method in which gamma camera heads rotate about the patient to detect radionuclides, enabling physicians...
holographic camera
A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...
electron-beam lithography system
An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and...
programmable logic controller
In computerized industrial process control, the element that determines the choice and sequence of operations dependent on...
second-harmonic generation
Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine...
representative fraction
Ratio between map or photo linear distance and the actual ground dimensions represented.
aspheric lens
An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...
frequency domain
The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their...
Bragg method of crystal analysis
A technique in which a beam of x-rays is directed against a crystal, the atoms of which, because of their lattice...
Maxwell's equations
The mathematical set of equations showing the relationship between oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are...
photonic integrated circuit
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...
double-clad fiber
Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...
field ion microscope
An extremely powerful microscope that renders individual ionized atoms visible by using an electric field to propel the ions...
cadmium lines
The three lines in the spectrum of cadmium that have the purest radiations and that were first used by Michelson to...
negative ghost
A ghost image that has the reverse lightness relations of the original image. This phenomenon is a common optical illusion...
heat treating
The process of subjecting glass to temperature cycling to produce physico-chemical reactions that alter its properties....
topology
Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous...
photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a technique used to obtain accurate three-dimensional measurements of objects and environments through the...
slow-scan television
A television system that uses a slow rate of horizontal scanning to increase its reproduction and transmittance accuracy of...
linear positioning stage
A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to...
octave
In optics, an octave typically refers to a range of frequencies or wavelengths that spans a factor of 2. In other words,...
advanced photon source
An accelerator at the Argonne National Laboratory, providing powerful x-ray beams for materials research applications.
helium-neon laser
A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates...
astrometry
The analysis and measurement of celestial bodies, their motions and positions.
fiber optic imaging bundle
A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each...
optical blank
A casting consisting of an optical material molded into the desired geometry for grinding, polishing or, in the case of...
lumen
A lumen is a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of luminous flux, which is the perceived power of light. In...
differential mode delay
A variation in propagation delay caused by differences in group velocity among modes of an optical fiber. Also called...
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that focuses on the anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the eyes and visual system....
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...
Mie scattering
Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as...
charge-injection device
A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a...
photographic sensitometry
The measurement of the responsivity of photographic media and of the relations between exposure and density of developed...
bi-quartz
A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other...
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or...
indium gallium arsenide camera
An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the...
dispersion
Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing...
free-electron laser
A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a...
camera reduction
The use of the photographic process to produce precision copies of an original image that are many times smaller in size....
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...
dissector
In optical character recognition, the mechanical or electronic transducer used to detect the level of illumination present...
excimer laser
An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...
near-infrared spectroscopy
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...
orange peel
In the context of imaging, particularly digital imaging and printing, "orange peel" refers to a texture or visual distortion...
Bessel functions
Two formulas used in diffractometer analysis, the first giving the individual diffraction patterns of each aperture, the...
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...
mid-infrared camera
A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range,...
confocal scanning microscope
A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture...
universal wavelength function
One of the four functions that allows the computation of a transparent medium's index of refraction, provided the index has...
electron-gun system
An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find...
single-photon avalanche diode
A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical...
doping
In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities...
absorption band
A group of frequencies or wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum which exhibits resonance or energy contributions near...
phase contrast microscopy
Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless...
phase conjugation
The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols,...
quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...
environmental chamber
A test chamber designed to expose the subject being tested to external conditions, such as heat, shock, pressure and...
synchrotron radiation
Radiation emitted by electrons when they travel in circular orbits at speeds close to that of light. Synchrotron radiation...
integrated services digital network
A set of international standards by which a single telecommunications channel is used to transmit voice and data...
motion picture camera
A camera equipped with a lens and a long length of perforated film, the latter being moved intermittently between exposures...
microchannel plate
A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle...
scalar diffraction theory
Scalar diffraction theory is a simplified approach used to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly...
ray tracing
Ray tracing is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a scene....
rotational power stability
Ability of a laser to resist variations in output power caused when it is slowly rotated about its optical or symmetrical...
photonic crystal surface-emitting laser
A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather...
fiber Bragg grating
A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It...
spectral luminous efficiency
Ratio of the radiant flux at a particular wavelength lm to that at any other wavelength l, such that both radiations produce...
photobleaching
Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently...
closing
In morphological image processing, a series of dilations followed by the same number of erosions.
thermoplastic film
A type of holographic film widely used for industrial applications because it is inexpensive and erasable.
coded disc
A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of...
Er:YAG laser
An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet...
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...
recombination radiation
The radiation emitted in semiconductors when electrons in the conduction band recombine with holes in the valence band. If...
ionic focusing
Also known as gas focusing. The introduction of an inert gas into a cathode-ray tube for the concentration of the electron...
micro-robotics
Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic...
magneto-optics
Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
depolarizer
A device that obliterates the polarization of a polarized beam by reflecting the beam in all directions at right angles to...
phototherapy
Phototherapy is a medical treatment that involves the use of light to treat various conditions, particularly those related...
endoscope
An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...
image plane holography
A hologram in which the image of an object, or the object itself, is located near the hologram recording plane, for optimum...
spectral flow cytometry
Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry...
sky filter
A filter designed to decrease the luminosity of the sky without decreasing that of the landscape in the foreground. A filter...
detector noise-limited operation
In optical communication systems, operations in which the amplitude of the pulses, as opposed to their width, determines the...
photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...
multijunction device
A photovoltaic device that consists of multiple p-n junctions to produce a greater efficiency when in use than that of...
anomalous propagation
Irregular propagation of a wave due to variations in the medium's density or refractive index.
distributed feedback laser
A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth...
nonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...
colorimeter
A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides...
spheric lens
A spheric lens, also known as a spherical lens, is a type of optical lens with at least one surface that is part of a...
central processing unit
The computer module whose circuitry interprets instructions and guides the actions of the peripherals. Also known as the...
fiber-lens fusing
A method of terminating optical fibers by forming a lens directly on the end of the fiber, eliminating the need for precise...
sun-tracking concentrator
Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the...
Bjerrum screen
In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of...
short wavelength infrared
Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between...
lens
A lens is a transparent optical device that focuses or diverges light, allowing it to pass through and form an image. Lenses...
lattice energy
With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by...
infrared absorption
Infrared radiation absorbed by crystals as a result of the excitation of lattice vibrations in which ions having opposite...
otoscope
An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists,...
particle acceleration
Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy...
reticle
A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical...
phototoxicity
Phototoxicity refers to the harmful effects caused by exposure to light, particularly intense or ultraviolet (UV) light, on...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
coherent communications
A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser...
thin lens
A concept used for purposes of preliminary calculations and analysis. In theory it is a lens whose axial thickness is zero.
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...
optical barcode reader
An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and...
optical microphone
Laser-powered telephone device for analog communications that employs a vibrating plastic membrane as a transmitter to...
piezoelectric transducers and ceramic materials
Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical...
speckle metrology
Refers to the variety of techniques that use the interference pattern produced by laser light diffusely reflected by an...
quantum cascade laser
A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....
electromagnon
An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a...
fluence
Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area....
neuromorphic vision sensor
A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual...
laser guide star
An artificial star used to aid in adaptive optics imaging of the sky. The guide star is provided from a telescope system on...
vacuum spectrograph
A spectrograph that functions in a vacuum and therefore eliminates any air-absorption of the emission being surveyed.
phonon
A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...
London equations
The partial differential equations for the spatial and time dependence of electric and magnetic fields inside a...
optical interconnection
The use of photonic devices rather than electronic devices to make connections within and between integrated circuits.
ordinary ray
The ray that has an isotropic speed and maintains a uniform polarization in all propagation directions when traveling in a...
concave
Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of...
aerial film
Film designed especially for the needs and conditions encountered in aerial photography. It is produced in a variety of...
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter...
red, green, blue
RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is...
bulk nonreciprocal device
A device that functions throughout the continuous radiation of a linearly polarized plane wave, and whose nonreciprocity...
microscopy
Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to...
CCD image sensor
A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images...
mirage
The distortion of an object's true image as the result of abnormal atmospheric disturbances along the path traveled by the...
flowmeter
A flowmeter is a device used to measure the flow rate or quantity of a fluid passing through a particular point in a system....
perovskite
The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...
second-order nonlinear optical properties
Second-order nonlinear optical properties refer to a class of phenomena exhibited by certain materials in response to...
Mach bands
The illusory appearance of a light or dark band at a line of brightness contrast that enhances the edge between the two...
atmospheric turbulence
Irregularities and disturbances in the atmosphere that are of particular interest because they induce random temporal and...
quantum dots
A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium...
microheterogeneous systems
Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in...
saccadic motion
The movement of the eye as it focuses on details of a scene. Some imaging systems mimic this movement by small, rapid...
hybrid cooler
A cryogenic cooler device that is an intermittent Joule-Thomson refrigerator with a passive radiator serving as the...
electro-optic modulator
An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an...
chirality
Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In...
effective beam
In photoelectric sensing, the portion of the transmitted beam that actually functions in the system; the diameter of the...
attosecond photonics sources
Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of...
fluorescence decay system
A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...
three-photon microscopy
Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It...
phase-modulated sensor
A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical...
halide
In chemistry, a halide refers to a chemical compound containing one or more halogen atoms bonded to another element. The...
metallography
The analysis of metal structure using an optical or electron microscope, generally with a camera, to record observations.
high harmonic generation
High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous...
Mohs hardness
Material hardness scale that is used to characterize the scratch resistance of various materials. This surface hardness...
absorption peak
An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...
optical fiber
Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light...
scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed...
nuclear track emulsion
A photographic emulsion of the silver-halide type that is used to record the path of a charged traveling particle. The...
fluorescent protein
Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a...
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible...
ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits,...
ultrafast pulsed laser
An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the...
fiber optic preform
A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It...
double refraction
The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such...
comb filter
A filter that passes a series of wavelength regions that are at equal distances from one another, such that its output...
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all...
calcium indicator
A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems....
calcium fluoride
An optical material used in place of crown glass to produce lenses with extraordinary correction of chromatic aberrations....
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated...
contour projector
An inspection device in which the profile of a mechanical part is projected onto a ground-glass screen at a precisely known...
Manufacturing Automation Protocol
A computerized token-passing local area network (LAN) configuration adopted by General Motors for real time control over the...
Raman effect
When light is transmitted through matter, part of the light is scattered in random directions. A small part of the scattered...
nanoimprint lithography
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a...
color facsimile transmission
The transmission of a color photograph by separating the colors into varying intensities of red, blue and green, and then...
thermocouple
A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative...
Förster resonance energy transfer
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced...
cathode sputtering
The method of disintegrating the substance of the cathode by bombarding it with ions and depositing it on another electrode...
tomography
Technique that defocuses activity from surrounding planes by means of the relative motions at the point of interest.
laser desorption
A process of forming ions within a given molecular species by incident laser light. The molecular species may remain intact,...
micro-optical coherence tomography
Micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT) is an imaging technique that is an adaptation of optical coherence tomography...
finite sampling theorem
A finite version of Shannon's sampling theorem that states that a class of functions can be reconstructed exactly by a...
3D laser line profile sensor
A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and...
polariton
A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of...
power modulation
Power modulation refers to the intentional variation of power levels in a signal, often in the context of electronic...
flying spot
The moving spot of light emitted by a source, generally a cathode-ray tube, to illuminate specific points of an area...
optical switching
Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...
spectrochemical equipment
Equipment used for chemical analysis by investigation of the spectra formed and observed in chemical activity. Of particular...
whispering gallery mode
Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...
single-molecule spectroscopy
An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation....
edge-emitting LED
An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the...
supercontinuum
Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the...
subscriber loop
That portion of the telecommunications network that runs from a local central telephone to the subscriber premises.
Pockels
In optics, the Pockels effect refers to the phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an...
diurnal aberration
Atmospheric aberration caused by the Earth's rotation; the degree varies from 0 at the poles to a maximum of 0.31 s of arc...
liquid filter
A solution or combination of solutions that serves as a filter.
microphotonics
The technology of manipulating light on a micro scale. In optical communications, this is usually accomplished using two or...
unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. UAVs are remotely...
infrared
Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but...
time-lapse optical coherence tomography
Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT...
knife-edge scanning microscope
An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the...
digital holographic microscopy
Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing...
optical communications
The transmission and reception of information by optical devices and sensors.
phase distrortion
Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...
pumping band
A group of energy levels to which ions in the ground state are initially excited when pumping radiation is applied to a...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
sputtering target
A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....
toric surface
A surface that is swept out by revolving a circle about an axis that lies in the plane of the circle but that does not...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...
isotopically selected laser spectroscopy
A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The...
corrected lens
A compound lens, the dimensions and materials of which have been so chosen that the lens is appreciably free of aberrations.
machine vision system
A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and...
organic dye
Any organic substance, that when dissolved in appropriate liquid based solvents will absorb and emit electromagnetic...
sandwich holography
The simultaneous exposure of two holographic plates with emulsions facing the object. After deformation, a second pair of...
rare-earth doped fiber
An optical fiber in which ions of a rare-earth element, such as neodymium, erbium or holmium, have been incorporated into...
retroreflection
Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly...
ground truth
A term variously applied to remote sensing techniques that essentially refers to all parametric conditions that influence...
magnetron sputtering
A variation from standard physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating techniques, magnetron sputtering is a plasma coating...
Fourier analysis
The representation of arbitrary functions as the superposition of sinusoidal functions whereby the representations...
halo
1. The faintly hued ring that is seen to surround a light source viewed through fog or light clouds. The size of scattering...
liquid gate
An immersion liquid used to treat polarizing filters to eliminate the effects of surface variations and to minimize the...
thin lens relationships
Formulas designating the relationships between image distance, object distance, focal length, refractive index, etc., of a...
brightfield
Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light...
laser active elements
Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...
metabolite
A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living...
autocollimator
An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on...
electrowetting display
An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...
interstitial site
A position inside a crystal lattice that is not one of the proper lattice sites in the crystal. Impurity ions of the proper...
diffuser
An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is...
dichroic coating
A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...
law of reversibility
In physics, the law of reversibility is often associated with the concept of reversibility in thermodynamics. The law...
vacuum phototube
A phototube that functions within a vacuum and thus eliminates the effects of gaseous ionization on its electrical...
electron microscope
A device utilizing an electron beam for the observation and recording of submicroscopic samples with the aid of photographic...
chemical vapor deposition
Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...
pit
The micrometer-size depressions that store data digitally in an optical data storage medium.
metabolic imaging
Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or...
waveform
The graph of the oscillating variations making up a wave, relative to time.
flare
Nonimage-forming light, concentrated or diffuse, that is transmitted through the lens to the image. It is frequently the...
graphene
Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...
contour projection chart
A large-scale, precise drawing of the contours of a perfect mechanical part, often with plus and minus tolerances drawn or...
anastigmat
A compound lens combination whose astigmatic difference is zero for one or more off-axis zones in the image plane. In such a...
attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy
Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows...
epitaxial equipment
Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...
half duplex
A communications system that can transmit in only a single direction at a time. See duplex.
spectrogrammetric reading equipment
Spectra can be conveniently recorded on photographic film or plates. The portions that are occupied by regions of the...
power flow equation
Optical fiber channel characterization scheme based on three assumptions; the discrete mode spectrum can be replaced by a...
optical noise
Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...
v-coat
A multilayer antireflective thin-film coating, so called because its reflectance rises steeply at wavelengths above and...
composite video
A type of video signal in which the luminance and chrominance portions of the signal, or the luma and chroma, have been...
Nernst glower
A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater...
real-time processing
The ability of a vision system to interpret an image in a short enough time to keep pace with most operations.
phase
In optics and photonics, "phase" refers to a property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the position...
dewetting
Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...
metamerism
In colorimetry, the phenomenon in which spectrally different radiations produce the same color sensation for a given...
enantiomer
A molecule that is the mirror image of another molecule. The two mirror-image molecules have the same chemical properties;...
recording camera
A type of camera that incorporates a tiny mirror that oscillates in accordance with incoming signals. An illuminated slit is...
single-photon-decay spectroscopy
A technique for observing the decay of light emissions from sources following their pulsed excitations, based on recording...
spatial mode
Also known as transverse mode. The configurations of energy storage, relative to the structure of a laser resonator, that...
cardinal points
Focal, nodal or principal points of a lens. If the respective distances of the object and image are measured from the...
gray-scale modification
Image enhancement operations that involve altering gray-scale values. For instance, brightness sliding involves adding or...
line scan
Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the...
image isocon
A television camera tube that preceded the development of the vidicon tube and incorporated a method to separate reflected...
Lorentz oscillator model
The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as...
field of view
The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given...
light filter
A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or...
Fermat's principle
The principle that a light ray extending from one point to another will, after any number of reflections and refractions,...
Ioffee bar
A fusion system conductor capable of carrying current in opposite directions in alternating time phases.
microbend-modulated sensor
A type of fiber optic sensor that detects changes in pressure, vibration, sound level or acceleration by monitoring the...
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...
distance-luminosity relationship
In astronomy, the relation that states that the intensity of a star's visible radiation is inversely proportional to the...
mask proximity correction
A technique used in photolithography of computer chips to compensate for errors caused by the proximity effect, which...
multi-axis alignment
Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...
rolling shutter artifacts
Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with...
in vitro
In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it...
photoconductive antenna
Photoconductive antenna (PCA) is a semiconductor element that generates or detects high-frequency electromagnetic signals....
probe card
A probe card is a testing device used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to evaluate and test the electrical...
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...
electrophoretic display
An electrophoretic display, often referred to as an electronic paper display or e-paper display, is a type of electronic...
stereocomparator
1. A stereoscope that has adjustable scales to allow the determination of distances and dimensions from stereoscopic...
artificial intelligence
The ability of a machine to perform certain complex functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as judgment,...
superresolution
Superresolution refers to the enhancement or improvement of the spatial resolution beyond the conventional limits imposed by...
quantum key distribution
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to...
region-of-interest processing
Image processing operations performed on one area of an image.
lenticular stereo photography
A type of stereoscopic photography in which a pair of lenses focuses a pair of images, relative to the positions of the two...
MTF optimization
Computerized lens design algorithm that permits the lens MTF characteristic to be included and controlled during the...
astronomy
The scientific observation of celestial radiation that has reached the vicinity of Earth, and the interpretation of these...
lambertian emitter
An optical source that has a luminous distribution that is uniform for all directions.
hyperchromic shift
Hyperchromic shift refers to an increase in the absorption of light, leading to a higher absorbance, often observed in...
microlens array
A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each...
relative brightness
A figure of merit corresponding to the amount of light seen by a viewer through binoculars. A higher number indicates a...
convertible lens
Any lens with at least two lens elements, each of which can be used singly or in combined configurations.
laser photochemistry
The study concerned with the stimulation of chemical activity by laser light as a result of the absorption of photons by a...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
chalcogenide
Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...
nanotube
A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...
low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit (LEO) refers to a region in space that is relatively close to Earth's surface, typically characterized by...
magnetically focused image tube
A vacuum tube in which a magnetic field is superimposed onto the tube's electrical field. When the two fields are aligned,...
microdisplay
A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small...
Lambert's cosine law
Flux per unit solid angle leaving a surface in any direction is proportional to the cosine of the angle between that...
spatial resolution
Spatial resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in an image or a spatial dataset. It is a measure of the...
instantaneous field of view
Instantaneous field of view (iFOV) is a term commonly used in the context of remote sensing, imaging systems, and optical...
harmonic generation
Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new...
Ti:sapphire laser
A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The...
fiber optic gyroscope
A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in...
optical link
Any optical transmission channel used in telecommunications designed to connect two end terminals or to be connected in...
noise
The unwanted and unpredictable fluctuations that distort a received signal and hence tend to obscure the desired message....
differential interference contrast microscopy
Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical...
gas current
The positive ion current created in an electron tube as a result of the collisions between electrons and residual gas...
spectral order (diffraction grating)
When, for example, a beam of monochromatic light passes through a diffraction grating, the emergent rays that have remained...
white balance
A feature of some imaging devices, such as digital cameras, that allows them to compensate for different lighting conditions...
cold atom
Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...
quadratic phase terms
Conceptual formulas that characterize both the transmittance functions of lenses and propagation in the Fresnel zone.
FMCW lidar
FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging)...
kidney-bean effect
A dark region created by spherical aberration of an eyepiece's exit pupil. Because of the aberration, an observer's eye must...
stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy
Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) is a superresolution microscopy technique that enables imaging of...
plasma
A gas made up of electrons and ions.
astronomical telescope
An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...
Seidel aberrations
Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...
antigen
An antigen is any substance that is capable of triggering an immune response in an organism. Antigens are typically proteins...
analog output
Information presented as a continuously variable relationship between a signal and a standard.
microbubble resonator
A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It...
transition
The process whereby a quantum mechanical system alters from one energy level to another. During this process, energy is...
optical clock
An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic...
dynamic theory
The theoretical explanation and analysis of the interactions between electron waves and crystals used in studying electron...
microstereology
Microscopic investigation of two-dimensional areas of a three-dimensional object that can be quantitatively evaluated by...
angular tracking
A laser radar application in which a sequence of direct measurements of target position is fed into a tracking filter to...
Weissenberg method
The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for...
self-luminous light source
Any material that derives its energy from chemically or electrically induced reactions; isotope or radium excitation is used...
metaverse
The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...
optically active material
A material that can rotate the polarization of light that passes through it. An optically active material exhibits different...
scattered seeds
A term used to denote the condition of a few easily visible coarse inclusions within a blank of glass.
wedge
An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....
coherent optical adaptive technique
The use of phase conjugation or other methods to increase the power density of a laser beam under adverse atmospheric...
luminous
Pertaining to electromagnetic radiation as perceived by the eye; that is, with the contributions as wavelengths in the...
infrared light-emitting diode
An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current...
wide-angle lens
A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to...
laser sintering
Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that involves using a laser to selectively fuse...
nonionizing radiation
Radiation that does not produce free electrons and ions, or electrically charged particles.
vacuum apparatus
Equipment dependent on the effects of a vacuum. The principal applications in optics are in the coating of lenses and...
pixel pitch
Pixel pitch refers to the distance between the centers of two adjacent pixels on a display screen or imaging sensor. It is...
channel impedance
The parallel resistance and capacitance appearing between the active guard ring junctions in a silicon photodiode.
nonradiative transition
A nonradiative transition refers to a process in which an electron or an atom undergoes a change in its energy state without...
stroke pattern
The pattern formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are composed of a sequence of...
strain viewer
A viewer that uses the transmittance of polarized light through glass or a similar medium to examine strained regions. See...
sapphire
Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...
aplanatic surface
An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and...
channel electron multiplier
A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along...
gyroscope
A gyroscope is a mechanical device consisting of a spinning disk or wheel mounted on a spinning axis in such a way that its...
ground glass
A plate of glass in which a face has been frosted by grinding or etching. It diffuses light by scattering in directions...
stereoscopic vision
Vision in depth of three dimensions as a result of the spacing of the eyes. This spacing allows the eyes to see objects from...
axial gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation,...
holographic interferometry
The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to...
histogram
A graphic representation of a distribution function such as frequency by means of rectangles whose widths represent the...
polarization photometer
A photometer having a pair of Nicol prisms introduced into the beam from the brighter of two sources to be compared. Turning...
four-level laser
A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a...
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...
optical disc
A rigid medium, generally a polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information (such...
CoaXPress
CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...
opening
In morphological image processing, a series of erosions followed by the same number of dilations.
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
thematic mapper
An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color...
color correction
The reduction in longitudinal, lateral and secondary chromatic aberrations in a lens or lens system.
chip-on-board lights
Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...
multimodality imaging
A technique that combines two or more imaging processes in order to minimize the disadvantages within each of the...
diasporometer
In an optical rangefinder, the system of wedges that rotate in opposite directions to aid in the detection of deviation in...
laser ablation
Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...
saturation
1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...
reflecting prism
A prism having several plane polished surfaces, some to transmit light, some to reflect light, and some to serve both...
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that...
ultraviolet fiber optics
Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet...
motion controller
In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...
error function
A single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known...
shot noise
Noise generated by the random variations in the number and velocity of the electrons from an emitter.
photodiode detector
A photodiode detector is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It operates based on the...
zero halogen thermoplastic
A highly flame-retardant material used to jacket fiber optic cables, especially on shipboard applications.
paraffin oil
A saturated compound of carbon and hydrogen used as a liquid coating material for optical components in high-power laser...
nanoLED
An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...
lattice
In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...
ray intercept plot
A graph of the intersections of a fan of rays with the final image plane, plotted as a function of the positions of the rays...
radiation trapping
That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the...
lepton
The generic term describing the class of light particles having no strong interactions.
time-correlated single photon counting
Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...
high-content screening
Also known as HCS, an analytical method designed to collect statistically relevant amounts of quantitative data on many...
circle of confusion
The image of a point source that appears as a circle of finite diameter because of defocusing or the aberrations inherent in...
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
split lens
A close-up lens, semicircular in shape, that is mounted in front of a conventional lens focused at infinity. The result is...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...
3D printing
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects...
clipping
A defect in an optical system that prevents rays from reaching their intended destination; it can be caused by an undersized...
computer vision
Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It...
ellipsometry
Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the...
alexandrite lasers
An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite...
capnometer
An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications...
ion-assisted deposition
A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions...
infrared modulated ellipsometry
A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent...
backward-wave oscillator
An amplifying device with a wide tuning range in which an electron gun sends a beam of electrons into a slow-wave structure....
piezoelectric effect
The interaction between electrical and mechanical stress-strain factors in a material. When piezoelectric crystal is...
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...
reflection grating
A reflection grating is an optical component that consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel reflecting surfaces or...
facsimile synchronizing
The maintenance of the same scanning relationship between the transmitting scanning spot and receiving scanning spot for...
luminous intensity
Luminous flux emitted by a source in a given range of directions; the unit of measure is the lumen/steradian, now known as...
Risley prism
A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the...
infrared detector
An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...
microfilm equipment
Two essential pieces of equipment used in connection with the microfilming process: a camera capable of producing, on film,...
PP junction
A transition boundary between two regions having different properties in a P-type semiconducting material.
epitaxy
A well controlled thin films technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at...
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
tolerancing
The determination of the degree to which a manufactured component can deviate from its ideal specifications of material and...
Monte Carlo simulation
Simulation of radiative transfer in which each photon is generated by a source and its path through the medium is...
moiré topography
Contour mapping technique that involves positioning a grating close to an object and observing its shadow on the object...
hematofluorometer
A photoanalytical instrument for analysis of jaundice conditions in infants that measures bilirubin (a breakdown product of...
detem
A device in which the functions of optical detector and emitter are combined.
clock
A signal, generated by an oscillator, that provides the means of synchronization of operations in a data communications...
wafer
In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a...
phase hologram
A hologram that is formed on a recording medium by changing the phase of the illuminating wave in correspondence with the...
balloon-borne astronomical system
Any instrument or system carried by a balloon to the upper atmosphere to measure and record atmospheric information, such as...
laser cloud mapper
A scanning laser radar system applied to transmission and concentration analysis in three dimensions of clouds as well as...
depth of convergence
A critical image parameter in applications where object position may change dynamically relative to the imager; this is a...
near-infrared spectrometer
A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection...
polishing puck
A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.
flexible display
A flexible display refers to a type of electronic visual display that is designed to be bendable, foldable, or rollable,...
holmium laser
Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...
Camera Link HS
Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and...
fluorescence microscopy
Fluorescence microscopy is a specialized optical imaging technique used in biology, chemistry, and materials science to...
broadband dielectric mirrors
Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...
sign conventions
A convention that defines specific dimensions of an optical system, such as the image distance or radius of curvature of a...
fiber-coupled LED
A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the...
monoscope cathode-ray tube
A character generation CRT that functions on the principle of secondary emission. The target holds a set of aluminum...
network interface card
A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows...
dichroic mirror
A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...
substrate
A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various...
heat wave
In reference to infrared, emissions that are like radio waves but that have a higher frequency.
interference microscope
A special form of microscope that utilizes interference for observing and measuring the phase and optical thickness in...
curie
Standard maintained by the International Commission on Radiological Units as a unit of radioactivity defined as the quantity...
GaN distributed feedback lasers
GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium...
resonance
Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in...
Faraday rotation
The effect discovered by Faraday in 1845 whereby nonoptically active materials or substances become capable of rotating the...
light pipe
Transparent matter that usually is drawn into a cylindrical, pyramidical or conical shape through which light is channeled...
image intensifier
An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...
spatial coherence
The maintenance of a fixed-phase relationship across the full diameter of a cross section of a laser beam.
filovirus
Filoviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fevers in humans and...
holographic grating
A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...
aerial reconnaissance
The use of optical or electronic recording systems to extract information from the terrain, while aloft, for reconnaissance...
Faraday dark space
The nonluminous area that divides the negative glow from the positive column in a Crookes tube under conditions of moderate...
standing wave
The combination of two waves having the same frequency and amplitude and traveling in opposite directions. Standing waves...
optical gate
An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...
luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...
grating beamsplitter
A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...
apochromat
An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to...
Glan spectrophotometer
A device similar to the ordinary spectrophotometer but containing particular modifications to provide for the comparison of...
outgassing
The emission of gas or de-aeration due to thermal variations and often occurring in a vacuum. In a cleanroom, contamination...
hill cloud lens
A fish-eye lens designed to photograph cloud formations over the entire visible sky.
modulated grating hologram
A computer-generated, phase-and-amplitude, off-axis hologram made by a multi-exposure technique that uses three computer...
chromaticity coordinates
Proportions of standard primaries (tristimulus values) required for a color match; ratios of each tristimulus value of a...
flow camera
An automatic camera that can record reduced images of documents at a rate of up to 30,000 documents per hour by having the...
slicing and cutting machines - for crystals, quartz, glass, etc.
A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing...
link
In data communications, the instrumentation connecting two stations: transmitters, receivers and the cable that runs between...
cavity
In a laser, the optical resonator formed by two coaxial mirrors, one totally and one partially reflective, positioned so...
transmitter
In fiber optic communications, a light source whose beam can be modulated and sent along an optical fiber, and the...
radiant
Pertaining to electromagnetic radiation, with the contributions at all wavelengths of interest weighted equally.
Fourier transform
Any of the various methods of decomposing a signal into a set of coefficients of orthogonal waveforms (trigonometric...
neoprene
A type of thermoset rubber used to jacket fiber optic cables, including those used in outdoor military installations.
photovoltaic
Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...
laser surgery
Laser surgery refers to a medical procedure in which a laser, or focused beam of light, is used as a precision tool to cut,...
Matrix optics
The linear relationship between input and output optical fields for a given optical system or application that allows the...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...
total flux
The luminous flux emitted by a light source in all directions.
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
sky noise
Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.
decision-tree classification
A structural method of optical character recognition, used where the input media are variable, as in hand-written or...
incoherent
In optics, the term denoting the lack of a fixed phase relationship between two waves. If two incoherent waves are...
mapping function
In image processing, the mathematical relationships that link pixel brightnesses of input images to those of output images...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication,...
die bonding
Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or...
microprobe
An instrument that produces an intense, tightly focused beam of ions to stimulate emissions from a minute section of a...
photonic cavity
A photonic cavity, also known as an optical cavity, is a structure that confines electromagnetic radiation within a certain...
emission spectrum
An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...
stylus profilometer
A measuring instrument used for surface profiling and quantifying the roughness of a material. The stylus is placed on the...
proof-of-concept system
An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea...
fused quartz and silica
Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...
orthographic camera
A camera designed with a telecentric optical system and a narrow field of view; the telecentric optical system (placement of...
optoisolator
An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains...
spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...
flow cytometry
Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and...
light-emitting diode
An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...
metal vapor laser
Devices in which the lasing medium is a vapor of metal atoms or ions, sometimes mixed with another gas. Metal vapor lasers...
solid-state laser
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...
Nyquist criterion
In image acquisition (and sampling theory), the postulate that the pickup sampling frequency must be a minimum of twice as...
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...
quantum dot light-emitting diode
Quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) is a display technology that utilizes quantum dots, which are semiconductor...
Wolter telescope
A grazing incidence mirror telescope with concentric conic surfaces having a single common point: a paraboloid-hyperboloid...
photon jet
A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric...
spectrophone technique
Gas detection measurement technique that uses a built-in capacitative microphone to calculate the amount of absorbed laser...
Kerr effect
The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where...
duplex
In data communications, the simultaneous operation of a circuit in both directions is known as full duplex; if only one...
sapphire window
A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of...
adaptometer
An apparatus used to determine the degree of adaptation of the eye under different conditions.
photoconductivity
The conductivity increase exhibited by some nonmetallic materials, resulting from the free carriers generated when photon...
microelectromechanical systems
Refers to micron-size complex machines that have physical dimensions suitable for the fabrication of optical switches for...
electron band
A spectrum band that is usually found in the visible or the ultraviolet because of the electron transitions taking place...
bacteriorhodopsin
A light-harvesting protein found in the purple membrane of a micro-organism called Halobacterium halobium. The protein...
scanning tunneling microscope
A high-resolution imaging instrument that can detect and measure the positions of individual atoms on the surface of a...
laser crystal
A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...
minimum object distance
Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system...
gallium arsenide phosphide
Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) is a semiconductor alloy composed of gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), and phosphorus (P). It...
quencher molecule
In the dye laser, the molecule that takes out energy from the triplet state during collisions between the dye and quencher...
fusion ignition
Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion...
GigE
GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data...
optical character recognition
Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into...
collimated radiation
Radiation in which every ray from any given object point can be considered to be parallel to every other. This is never...
carbon dioxide laser
A gas laser in which the energy-state transitions between vibrational and rotational states of CO2 molecules give emission...
Bragg grating
A filter that separates light into many colors via Bragg's law. Generally refers to a fiber Bragg grating used in optical...
laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It...
laser communications
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...
optical Fourier transform
The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...
carrier injection
Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor...
radiology
The study of radioactive substances and high-energy radiations such as x-rays and g-rays.
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...
diode-pumped solid-state laser
A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...
land
In a CD-ROM disc, the reflective area between nonreflective pits representing a binary-language "off'' as opposed to...
infrared camera
An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...
trunk
In a fiber optic communications network, a circuit that connects two switching centers and does not branch off to terminal...
laser annealing
Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically...
flame spectrometry
The procedure applied to flame-excited line emissions to determine spectra and wavelengths.
organic light-emitting diode
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to...
cesium 134
An isotope of cesium that emits negative beta particles and has a half-life of 2.19 years; its applications include...
photoimmunotherapy
Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) is a medical treatment approach that combines elements of phototherapy and immunotherapy to target...
ionization chamber
A closed vessel with electrodes of different potentials that is used to determine how much ionization took place in a gas...
grating prism
A specific, right-angle prism having a transmission grating replicated on its hypotenuse face and used in applications...
evaporation coating
Coating carried out in a sealed chamber evacuated by a mechanical pump in series with an oil diffusion pump to a pressure...
ultrasonic
Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...
swept-source laser
A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its...
epoxy
Common name for a variety of adhesives used for lens bonding, fiber optic splicing and other photonics applications. The...
vacuum etching
Also known as cathodic etching. Surface etching achieved by bombarding an evacuated surface with gas ions.
inertial fusion energy
Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...
line-scan camera
A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to...
carrier-to-noise ratio
The ratio of the power of the carrier wave to that of unwanted signal distortions, or noise, before any nonlinear signal...
neutron drip line
Prediction based on observations of nuclear masses in the valley of stability that indicates the maximum number of electrons...
directed energy
Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often...
laser drift
Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...
metal component
An accurate metal prism or plane parallel plate that is cemented to an optical element and remains with it during a series...
bracketing
In photography, the technique of taking multiple pictures of the same subject at different exposures to compensate for...
hysteresis
This term literally means "to lag behind.'' It is quite often used to describe the residual effect that remains after...
FTIR spectrometer
FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of...
retina camera
A special-purpose camera used by ophthalmologists to photograph the retina of the eye. The optical system operates through...
III-V material
In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from...
fluorescence lifetime imaging
Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...
laser optics
Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...
incomplete radiator
A thermal source that emits less radiation than a blackbody under identical temperature conditions.
angular spectrum approach
The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...
Helmholtz reciprocal relationship
The capability of the spatial distributions of incident and reflected flux to interchange completely without alteration of...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
silicon photodiode
A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector...
codec
A device that combines the functions of encoder and decoder.
phase-contrast microscope
A microscope that has an annular stop in the lower focal plane of the condenser, and a quarter-wave retarding and absorbing...
Arrhenius plot
The plot that expresses a reaction rate vs. the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Often used to describe the thermal...
diffraction efficiency
Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...
detector-Dewar assembly
A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...
Nichols radiometer
An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...
eikonometer
A scale attached to a microscope eyepiece that is seen superimposed on the image and that is used to measure the dimensions...
prism
A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...
spectrophotoelectric
Characteristic of the relationship between photoelectric activity and the wavelength of incident radiation.
zero-order reflection grating
A grating that specularly reflects the specified long radiation wavelengths and diffracts the shorter wavelengths off in...
optically isotropic crystal
A transparent crystalline substance that displays the same optical properties (i.e. refractive index) in all directions such...
swept source optical coherence tomography
Swept-source optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...
digital twin
A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This...
micro-LED
Micro-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to...
sensitized fluorescence
The optical energy transfer between ions of differing atoms.
anisotropic
Anisotropic is a term used to describe a material or substance that exhibits different properties or behaviors in different...
in vivo
In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and...
hydrophobic
Hydrophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or do not readily interact with water. The word...
three-level laser
A laser having a material, such as ruby, that has an energy state structure of three levels: the ground state (1) wherein...
low-coherence interference microscope
An interference microscope that uses a light beam originating from a low-coherence light source. The sample is placed in one...
Ruticon
A ruticon is an opto-electronic device in which light going through it can be modulated by an electric field. The...
Rayleigh scattering
Rayleigh scattering is a phenomenon that occurs when light waves interact with particles or molecules that are much smaller...
heatseeker
A guided missile that uses an infrared sensor to detect and home in on an enemy target. The missile is guided by the high...
coherent fiber bundle
A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers...
embedded laser
The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or...
quantum noise
Noise generated within an optical communications system link that has both internal (dark current) and external (background...
liquid crystal light valve
A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the...
molecular spectroscopy
Spectrum analysis concerned with the spectra formed by transitions in molecules.
neodymium:YAG
Literally, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet. A cylindrical rod of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium that is the...
functional material
Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for...
ocean color
Refers to the characteristic hue of the ocean according to the presence and concentration of specific minerals or...
intensity interferometer
An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector...
photodetector
A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical...
self-phase modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...
centering
1. Mounting a lens or mirror so that its optical axis is coincident with the optical or mechanical axes of other portions of...
autofluorescence
Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...
electroholography
A technology that uses electrically activated holograms stored within specially developed crystals to route information in...
hyperspectral imaging
Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the...
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other...
sapphire crystal
Sapphire crystal refers to a transparent, single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) known as corundum. It is one of the...
optical time-domain reflectometer
An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...
solid-state lamp
An electroluminescent semiconductor that emits low intensity radiation in the green or red regions. Used as an indicator...
blaze height
Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of...
laser damage threshold
The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...
thermomagnetic imaging
The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie...
hyperspectral resolution
Hyperspectral resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in the spectral information captured by a...
angstrom
An angstrom, symbolized by the Ångström or Å, is a unit of length used to express atomic and molecular...
lithography
Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the...
averaged threshold receiver
A receiver for optical communications systems consisting of a symmetric binary, pulse-code-modulated transmitter, a...
APD detector
An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by...
vacuum chamber
A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...
infrared light source
An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of...
fiber optic sensor
A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or...
mirror mount
A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are...
infrared lens
An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...
jitter
1. In relation to cathode-ray tube displays, errors in the signal's amplitude, phase or both that result in small, rapid...
Gaussian beam optics
The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e....
aplanatic points
Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or...
Brewster's angle
For light incident on a plane boundary between two regions having different refractive indices, the angle of incidence at...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
photomask
A photomask, also known simply as a mask or reticle, is a key component in the photolithography process used in...
multianode microchannel array detector
A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation....
recombinase polymerase amplification
Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA...
planar magnetron
A device used in the sputtering of thin films, in which a magnet system on the back of the cathode deflects the electrons,...
flying spot scanner
A device used to scan, with a small, intensely bright spot, portions of a picture surface and to transform the original...
beam matrix
1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications...
biomarker
A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition,...
anisotropy
Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions....
horizontal temperature gradients
Horizontal concentrations that comprise the dominant factor in atmospheric gradient correction. The range bias near due...
laser powder bed fusion
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power...
light field
The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It...
lensless microscopy
Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and...
breakout cable
A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...
lens mount
The metal tube that maintains the optical components of a lens in proper relationship. Some lenses are mounted in metal...
extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....
atom optics
The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...
surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy...
beam shuttle
A set of mirrors mounted on solenoids to move them into and out of the path of a laser beam, making it possible for multiple...
optical memory
1. The direct storage of data as bits in memory using optical systems and properties. The memory makes use of a laser beam...
photoacoustic calorimetry
Periodic interruptions of a light beam incident on an absorbing medium that produce heat, expansion and acoustic wave...
cascade image tube
An image tube that functions in low-light-level conditions by virtue of its series of stacked sections wherein the output of...
multiconfiguration mode
Used in computer design for optical systems with common parts and different applications.
discrimination
The degree to which a vision system is capable of sensing differences in light intensity between two regions.
cinemicrography
Cinematography performed with the use of a microscope to film the actions of microscopic specimens.
CCD camera
A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and...
lab-on-a-chip
A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single,...
crystal
A solid with a structure that exhibits a basically symmetrical and geometrical arrangement. A crystal may already possess...
television waveform
The graph of the oscillating variations composing the wave of a video signal.
digital camera
A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film...
node
In a communications network, a point at which data are received or from which they are sent. Though the term often is used...
image orthicon
A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A...
density matrix formulation
The exact mathematical description of the interactions of matter and intense electromagnetic fields, such as those that...
diaphragm
A flanged or plain ring with a restricted aperture, located in an optical system at any of several points, that cuts off...
cosmic expansion
The ongoing expansion of the universe based on observations of the recession of distant galaxies from each other as...
extensometer
1. A strainmeter capable of measuring the change in the relationship between two reference points, provided that the points...
3D laser triangulation
3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an...
germanium crystal
Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...
Craik-O'Brien effect
Observed when alterations in the luminous sterance at the contour of an object create the illusion of the outer zones...
mirror lens
An image-forming system having curved mirrors in place of transparent glass components. Mirror lenses are commonly used for...
phase matching
Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...
attenuation
Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...
thermal interface materials
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
velocity modulation laser spectroscopy
A method of measuring negatively charged phase ions using a color-center or lead-salt diode laser.
receiver primaries
Also known as display primaries. Colors formed by a television receiver that are of constant chromaticity and variable...
MSM photodiode
A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...
inertial confinement fusion
Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to...
fluctuation spectroscopy
A technique developed to measure the molecular weight of macromolecules by analyzing the spontaneous fluctuations that occur...
coma
A lens aberration, resulting from different magnifications in the various lens zones, that occurs in that part of the image...
azimuthal polarization
Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...
machine vision
Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically...
scanning spectroradiometer
A spectroradiometer having a means to scan different regions of the light spectrum, providing simultaneous representations...
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics....
hyperspectral imaging camera
A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide...
magnetometer
A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect...
light-activated silicon-controlled switch
Similar to LASCR, except that all four regions are available.
Becke apertometer
Device used to measure the numerical aperture of a microscope, composed of a 14-mm-thick glass block with numerical aperture...
diverging lens
A diverging lens is a type of lens that causes parallel rays of light to spread out or diverge. It is thinner in the center...
linear receive optics
Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly...
holographic tomography
Holographic tomography is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and tomography to provide three-dimensional...
YAG crystal
A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline...
time-to-amplitude converter
A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an...
input/output
I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its...
transducer
A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...
functional near-infrared spectroscopy
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin...
single-molecule FRET
Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular...
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...
optoelectronic
Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation...
optical testing instrument
An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...
etalon
An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance....
process control
The collection and analysis of data relevant to monitoring the rate and quality of industrial production, either...
laser-induced fluorescence
Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms,...
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...
fiber laser
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...
diamond turning
Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...
pulse spreading
Variations in a signal passing through an optical fiber caused by the effect on the pulse of the fiber's material and mode...
aptamer
An aptamer is a short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule that can bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity...
suprathermal ion detector
A mass spectrometer used to detect ions formed by photo- and charge-exchange ionization of gases, such as those in the lunar...
laser-mediated gene transfer
Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...
nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy
Nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy is a microscopy technique that combines the principles of photonic...
sputtering equipment
Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....
xenon arc photocoagulator
An instrument for eye surgery that directs intense xenon arc light through the transparent cornea lens to the retina where...
constant deviation
That property of certain optical devices, e.g., a penta prism, that maintains the angular relationship between the entering...
turnkey system
A system that is complete and self-contained, needing no further additions to permit its operation.
color comparator
1. A device used in chemistry to compare the colors of solutions held in flat-bottomed tubes and viewed along the length of...
optical beam steering
Directing an optical beam in varying directions by varying reflection, refraction, focusing and diffraction methods.
rare earth dopants
Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...
phototransistor
A solid-state device similar to an ordinary transistor except that incident light on the PN junctions regulates the response...
event-based sensor
An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to...
thermoplastic recording device
A display device having a thermoplastic film as the control layer medium. The film, moving from a playoff reel, is scanned...
photon correlation spectroscopy
Spectroscopy used to study the concentration, diffusion and Brownian motion of small particles suspended in a fluid by...
two-photon polymerization
Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It...
hyperfine splitting
The splitting of an element's spectral line as the result of the interactions between the electron spin and the spins of...
mean spherical luminous intensity
The average luminous intensity of a point light source measured over all directions.
modem
Modulator/demodulator. An electronic device that modulates and demodulates signals transmitted over communications lines.
pixel binning
Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology....
bench photometer
A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the...
evaporagraph
A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An...
heat lamp
A lamp designed to emit a large amount of infrared radiation; used in applications requiring heat.
noise current
Any noise or current fluctuation that prevents precise measurement of the signal current. Both dark current and signal...
chirped-pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...
vanadate laser
Lasers based on neodymium-doped yttrium or gadolinium vanadate crystals. These include yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4),...
confocal resonator
A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
That branch of spectroscopy that applies to the study of interactions between energy and atomic nuclei. The simultaneous...
CMOS image sensor
A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used...
dominant wavelength
A single wavelength of light that matches the color of a given sample when combined in suitable proportions with white light...
coronal holes
Solar regions characterized by low density and open magnetic fields where high-speed solar wind streams originate....
diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties...
mutual coherent function
A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems...
gradient-index profile
The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...
beam profiling
Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...
active transport
The transport of molecules in a cell which requires the use of a cell's internal energy. The energy used in the cell may be...
Penning discharge
A standard source of high-charge-state ions for accelerators that has an external magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to...
cascade tube
An instrument consisting of a high-voltage vacuum tube used to form hard x-rays or high-speed ion beams. By partitioning the...
crystal field
The electrostatic field acting locally within a crystal as a result of the microscopic arrangement of atoms and ions in the...
alignment laser
A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.
image converter
An electron tube that employs electromagnetic radiation to produce a visual replica of an image produced on its cathode....
structured illumination microscopy
Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an advanced optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the...
diffraction-limited lens
A lens with aberrations corrected to the point that residual wavefront errors are substantially less than one-quarter the...
microcomb
A microcomb, short for microresonator frequency comb, is a novel photonic device that generates a precise series of evenly...
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...
deep ultraviolet
Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the...
continuous wave
Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In...
analytical photogrammetry
The use of mathematical analysis to derive solutions in the science of photogrammetry.
spinthariscope
A device through which scintillations are observed or counted through a magnifying lens system.
legacy fiber
Older fiber optic cable that may not be suitable for state-of-the-art applications and that is difficult for suppliers to...
feedback control system
A system designed to control the output quantity of a device by returning a portion of its output signal to its input. This...
fluorophore
A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has the ability to emit light upon excitation by an external...
terahertz
Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1...
optical fiber optic switches
Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...
laser oscillator
Contains the light or beam path within a laser device. The oscillator uses reflective optical components that are oriented...
cathode radiant sensitivity
Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...
electrophoresis
The movement of particles or ions in a solution toward the electrode having the opposite sign because of the application of...
computer numerically controlled grinding
Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision...
masking
In image processing, the assigning of certain portions (or pixels) of an image a constant value of either 0 (black) or 1...
point cloud
A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific...
phototheranostics
Phototheranostics, a portmanteau of "photo" (light), "therapy," and "diagnostics," refers to an emerging field that combines...
scientific CMOS camera
A scientific CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera is a type of digital camera specifically designed for...
Saha equation
Formula that describes the thermal equilibrium of gas electrons and ions as a direct function of variations in temperature.
flow chemistry
Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...
FC connector
The fiber optic connector standard for Nippon Telephone & Telegraph (NTT) installations, developed with Nippon Electric...
corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...
vernier interferometer
A phase-shift interferometer used to detect the relative angular speeds or positions of two concentric rotors.
photoelectric photometry
The use of photoelectric sensors to detect and measure the intensity of a light source. This application, as compared to...
polymer
Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded...
rare-earth elements
Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen chemical elements found in the Earth's crust, characterized by their...
fluorescence lifetime
Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength...
optical channel monitor
An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of...
anomalous trichromatism
Color vision whereby abnormal proportions of three colors are needed for color matching.
intravital microscopy
Intravital microscopy is an imaging technique used to visualize biological processes within living organisms, typically in...
integrated optics
A thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric...
Rydberg atom
The term "Rydberg atom" refers to an atom in a highly excited state where one or more of its electrons are in a Rydberg...
spectrofluorometer
An automatic scanning instrument that is used to study a substance's fluorescence over a wide range of wavelengths. It...
compound lens
A lens composed of two or more separate elements of optical glass that may or may not be cemented together. The surfaces of...
photographic thermometry
The photographic recording of the heat radiation emitted from various points on the object as corresponding density...
Fabry-Perot interferometer
A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set...
absolute purity threshold
Least value of color value combinations which gives white light; minimum purity as determined to be white.
spatially offset Raman spectroscopy
Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating...
acoustophotorefractive effect
The change in refractive index that occurs as acoustic vibrations are transmitted through an optical material.The index...
remote inspection
Remote inspection refers to the process of inspecting, evaluating, or monitoring assets, equipment, infrastructure, or...
hydrogel
A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for...
multispectral photography
The use of narrow bandpass filters and special photographic emulsions to discern features of a surface that would not be...
fiber optic cable assembly
A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and...
Photoelastic equipment and supplies
Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze...
constant variant enhancement
Technique that uses high-pass filtering to reduce the local average to zero for all regions of the picture and then applies...
McClatchey model
Calculation of gas and aerosol transmission and emission characteristics for several model atmospheres, including two model...
BCS theory
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...
plastic optical fiber
Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate...
integration time
Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a...
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose...
long-pass filter
A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...
label-free
Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or...
optical lattice
A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential...
quantum well
A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...
charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital...
mesopic vision
Vision at intermediate levels of luminance between photopic and scotopic vision, where both retinal cones and retinal rods...
active-matrix liquid crystal display
When applied to LCD grids, the active matrix is a means of supplying power to pixels by use of a transistor and capacitor....
time-sharing laser
A laser fitted with up to eight optical fibers that transmit the energy to different workstations in turn.
liquid-surface holography
The acoustical holographic process in which the hologram consists of slight elevations in a liquid surface, in the areas of...
total internal reflection fluorescence
Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...
nanopositioning
Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer...
nonlinear optical materials
Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...
positioning
Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or...
modulation transfer function analysis/measurement equipment
MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer...
scintillation detector
A scintillation detector is a radiation detection device that utilizes scintillation crystals to detect and measure ionizing...
fiber optic transceiver
A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic...
disc colorimeter
A colorimeter using a spinning disc made of different colored sections for colorimetric analysis.
stereoscopic photography
The photographing of a scene from positions corresponding to the locations of both eyes. A viewing device is used to present...
enhanced Faraday effect
The occurrence of very large rotations in transparent materials at weak magnetic fields as predicted in the classical...
gravitational lens
The effect of a powerful gravitational field on light traveling through the field. This effect is detectable in astronomical...
Schlieren photomicrography
The photomicrographic recording of Schlieren effects, irregular refractions of light from optic surfaces or areas of thin,...
single molecule localization microscopy
Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the...
high-speed motion camera
A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device...
kinetic cooling
An atmospheric nonlinear process unique to CO2 laser wavelengths, whereby CO2 absorbs 10.6-µm radiation and the CO2...
fluorescence photography
The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the...
deep learning
Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that involves the use of artificial neural networks to model and solve complex...
chelating agent
Any of several compounds capable of binding heavy-metal ions, thereby preventing interaction between the bound ions and the...
end-fire coupling
End-fire coupling refers to a method of coupling energy into or out of a waveguide, transmission line, or antenna, where the...
ultraviolet microscopy
The study and photographing of microscope specimens in ultraviolet light; using an optical microscope containing fluorite...
dynamic variation
In electrical equipment, power variations that are temporary (as opposed to the permanent, cumulative effects of drift).
stoichiometry
The determination of what, how much and in what proportions chemicals must be combined to produce the desired reactions and...
receiver
A detector and signal demodulator used in optical communications systems to receive a signal and often to translate it into...
heterodyne
The interaction between two oscillations of unlike frequencies that forms other oscillations, specifically those with a...
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
gated image tube
An intensified charge-coupled device that uses a large negative charge at the grid to switch off the flow of electrons at...
Franck-Condon principle
The principle that electronic energy transitions occur at such speeds that the nuclei of the atoms in the molecular system...
cylindrical lens
A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape...
low-loss fiber
Optical fiber that transmits a greater percentage of input light than does high-loss step-index fiber. Low-loss fiber...
arc flash
An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...
color photographic film
Film that produces color negatives or transparencies by the use of three emulsions, one coated over the other, that are each...
color center
A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...
galvanometric scanner
A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to...
concave and convex spherical mirror
Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These...
envelope delay distortion
Distortion caused by variations in the rate of change of phase shift with frequency over the signal's necessary bandwidth.
electromagnetic wave
Wave of radiation identified by individual fluctuations of electric and magnetic fields.
spectral window
A wavelength region of relatively high transmittance, surrounded by regions of low transmittance.
long-path absorption spectroscopy
The method that, by measuring the absorption along an atmospheric path at wavelengths ranging from two to a continuum, can...
negative-refraction metamaterial
An artificial material, engineered to have a negative refractive index value, such that light or any other form of...
photon sieve
A photon sieve is an optical device used in the field of optics and imaging. It's designed to focus and shape light,...
reactive evaporation
Reactive evaporation refers to a process in thin-film deposition where a material is deposited onto a substrate through...
front porch
In communcations and video signals, the portion of a composite signal between the leading edge of the horizontal blanking...
well plate
A well plate, also known as a microplate or microtiter plate, is a flat plate with multiple small wells or depressions...
star testing
The visual examination by a trained observer of the image of a point source. Any coloring or departure from the Airy disc...
picosecond spectroscopy
A method of measuring complex sequential photosynthetic reactions by varying the pulse time and wavelength of light...
speckle pattern
A power intensity pattern produced by the mutual interference of partially coherent beams that are subject to minute...
electron multiplication charge-coupled device camera
An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...
pixel group processing
In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that treats each pixel in terms of its relationship to...
laser texturing
Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...
optical head
In compact disc and CD-ROM technology, the portion of the drive that projects the laser light onto the surface of the media...
diffraction grating
A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel...
logic diagram
A diagram that uses special symbols called logic symbols to represent the detailed functioning of electronic logic circuits....
time domain
The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...
positronium
Basically, a hydrogen atom with two alterations, positronium is the lightest atom in the universe and has an extremely light...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
waveguide scattering
Scattering (other than material scattering) that is attributable to variations of geometry and index profile of the...
matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
Process of analysis in which the analyte substance is distributed in a matrix before laser desorption. This method avoids...
Cooke triplet lens
The simplest lens in which all primary aberrations may be corrected. It consists of two positive crown elements on either...
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be...
atmospheric optics
The analysis of the properties of radiation, such as light, when acted upon by variations in the atmosphere. Blue and red...

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