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measuring Dictionary Terms

infrared modulated ellipsometry
A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent...
goniometer eyepiece
An eyepiece having a rotating index or cross wire linked to an external 360° scale to allow measuring of angles in an...
quantum-ehanced metrology
Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...
absorption spectroscopy
Experimental method of measuring the transmission of a given sample as a function of the wavelength.
triangulation
A method of measuring distance by recording a single scene from two points of perspective. Surveying instruments can be...
lidar
Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and...
opacimeter
An instrument for measuring opacity.
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...
hyperchromic shift
Hyperchromic shift refers to an increase in the absorption of light, leading to a higher absorbance, often observed in...
ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy
A technique for measuring the energy spectrum of electrons emitted during the absorption of ultraviolet radiation. This...
optical caliper
A device for measuring linear dimensions. The optical caliper generally consists of two circularly mounted mirrors whose...
digital signal processing
Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...
holographic particle velocimetry
A method of measuring flow velocity by seeding the flow with neutrally buoyant particles and using a pulsed laser to...
reflectometer
An instrument for measuring reflectance.
lock-in amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...
skew angle
The angle at which photoelectric sensors are aligned to prevent light from being reflected back to the sensor from the...
glossmeter
A photometer for measuring gloss by comparing the specular reflectance to that from a perfect specular reflector.
optical transform image modulation
A technique for detecting and measuring atmospheric pollution, in which an oscillating mirror directs half the incoming...
clinometer
An instrument for measuring the vertical angle of an object. It usually contains an accurately made protractor, a sensitive...
optical grating reflectance evaluator
A device for measuring diffraction grating efficiency at any angle of incidence, consisting of a reflectometer wherein the...
integrating sphere
A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and...
quantum sensing
Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...
measuring eyepiece
Also known as an eyepiece micrometer. A microscope eyepiece that has a finely divided scale ruled or photographed on a...
optical channel monitor
An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of...
spectral domain optical coherence tomography
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...
fluorescence lifetime imaging
Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...
photoacoustic gas cell
A device for measuring absorption coefficients in which a confined, nonabsorbing gas fills the space inside the cell between...
Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor
The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....
laser anemometry
The process by which laser emission is used in measuring fluid velocity and, more specifically, the detection of air and...
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...
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...
mandrel wrap test
A means of testing optical fiber for macrobending losses by wrapping the fiber once at very low tension around a mandrel,...
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that...
spectroscope
In a general sense, any one of a class of instruments used to disperse radiation, visible or invisible, into its component...
ellipsometry
Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the...
reflective spectroscopy
Reflectance spectroscopy is a technique used to analyze the reflective properties of materials across various wavelengths of...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...
surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy...
Rockwell hardness
Rockwell hardness (Rc) refers to a method for measuring the hardness of a material, primarily metals, using an indentation...
velocity modulation laser spectroscopy
A method of measuring negatively charged phase ions using a color-center or lead-salt diode laser.
spatial light interference microscopy
Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative...
optical continuous wave reflectometer
An instrument used to measure backscatter as well as optical return loss and reflectance within an optical fiber system by...
ultrasonic
Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...
spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...
coordinate measuring microscope
An instrument used to measure the coordinates of a point on an object such as a photographic plate.
strain measuring equipment
mode filter
A device used in measuring the attenuation of multimode optical fibers. A short reference length of fiber when combined with...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...
optical time-domain reflectometer
An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...
Ritchey-Common test
An interferometric method for describing the surface shape of large coated or uncoated optical flats. The procedure uses a...
photoelectron holography
A technique proposed for studying the atomic structure of crystals by measuring the interference pattern generated when the...
2D profile sensor
A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture...
mensuration
The process or act of measuring the geometric properties of an object or image.
quantitative phase imaging
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...
half bandwidth
The term half bandwidth (HBW) generally refers to the width of a spectral band or frequency range at half of its maximum...
photoelectric counter
A device used to count objects that pass a given point by allowing each object to obstruct a beam of light falling on a...
transient calorimetric technique
A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a...
infrared light-emitting diode
An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current...
pyroelectric infrared detector
Unlike the thermocouple or bolometer, the pyroelectric infrared detector is a current source with an output proportional to...
diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties...
spectral repeatability
Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...
refracted ray method
The technique for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by scanning the entrance face with the vertex of a high...
photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a technique used to obtain accurate three-dimensional measurements of objects and environments through the...
Laurent polarimeter
A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by...
Murty interferometer
A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...
laser ceilometer
A device used for measuring the height of clouds from a position on the ground. Measurement technique uses a vertically...
beam profiling
Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...
pyrheliometer
An instrument for measuring the intensity of solar radiation.
pulse video thermography
A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate...
picosecond spectroscopy
A method of measuring complex sequential photosynthetic reactions by varying the pulse time and wavelength of light...
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for...
time-correlated single photon counting
Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...
spectrum measuring instrument
A traveling microscope or an automatic microdensitometer used to measure the spectrum plate obtained in a spectrograph.
absorption meter
A measuring device that uses a light-sensitive cell or detector to determine the amount of light transmitted by a substance.
gas filter correlation
A technique for measuring the concentration of any gases. Identical infrared beams are alternately chopped, one passing...
frequency comb
A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with...
Angstrom compensation pyrheliometer
A system used for measuring direct solar radiation.
laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It...
synthetic aperture radar
Imaging radar that increases the sweep of its along-track (or azimuth) capacity by measuring not only the time delay of the...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
autocollimator
An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on...
photoelectric photometer
Also known as electronic photometer. A photometer with a photocell, phototransistor or phototube for measuring the intensity...
microdensitometer
The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...
calorimeter
An instrument used to measure the change of heat content of a system by measuring microwave power in terms of generated heat.
fiber optic spectrometer
A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to...
pupilometer
An instrument for measuring the diameter of the human eye pupil.
nitric oxide detector
A pollution-measuring device used to detect the presence of nitric oxide regardless of other gases present. It utilizes the...
photon correlation spectroscopy
Spectroscopy used to study the concentration, diffusion and Brownian motion of small particles suspended in a fluid by...
brightness meter
An instrument for measuring the brightness (luminance) of a scene. It may be a spot meter, covering an area of a degree or...
Fresnel reflection method
A method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by measuring the reflectance as a function of position on the...
near-field scanning
A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest...
galvanometer
An instrument for detecting or measuring small electric currents.
biprism
A piece of glass polished flat on one side, with a pair of polished faces that form an angle close to 180° on the other...
serpentine bend mode filter
A device used in measuring attenuation in optical fiber. The loss caused by the bends in a short reference length of fiber...
electrostrictive
A common form of high-precision, ceramic-based actuator capable of moving and measuring at the nanometer level.
local injection detection system
A device used to evaluate the quality of fiber optic splices made in the field by injecting light into the cladding of the...
surveying instruments
Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the...
light sectioning
Technique for measuring the volume bulk of materials as they move along a conveyor with an accuracy of better than 1...
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...
picosecond continuum
A broadband, visible picosecond probe pulse capable of measuring an entire absorption spectrum in one shot.
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...
stylus profilometer
A measuring instrument used for surface profiling and quantifying the roughness of a material. The stylus is placed on the...
lateral load test
A method of measuring microbending losses in optical fiber by sandwiching a length of fiber between two parallel plates,...
absolute white
A perfect diffuser that exists only as a concept, or a white with known spectral characteristics used as a reference in...
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
spherometer
An instrument for measuring the radius of curvature of a spherical lens or mirror surface. It may consist of a ring resting...
positioning
Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or...
phosphor thermometry
A method for remote measurement of the temperature of moving surfaces in harsh environments by using a laser to stimulate...
cutback technique
A technique for measuring fiber attenuation or distortion by performing two transmission measurements. One is at the output...
interferometric calorimetry
Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by...
video measuring gauge
A device that calibrates the size, position or distance of objects imaged on a video screen.
time-to-amplitude converter
A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an...
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...
slab interferometry
The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by preparing a thin sample that has its faces perpendicular...
Z-scan
A technique for determining the nonlinear optical properties of a sample material by moving the sample through a focused...
nox
Equal to 10-3 lux; used in measuring low values of illumination and luminance.
particle image velocimetry
A whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is...
spatially offset Raman spectroscopy
Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating...
Martin's diameter
A specific method for measuring the diameter of irregular shaped particles, Martin's diameter is the measured distance...
transverse scattering
The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber or preform by illuminating it coherently and transversely to...
long-path absorption spectroscopy
The method that, by measuring the absorption along an atmospheric path at wavelengths ranging from two to a continuum, can...
optical testing instrument
An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...
extensometer
1. A strainmeter capable of measuring the change in the relationship between two reference points, provided that the points...
functional near-infrared spectroscopy
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin...
silicon photodiode
A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector...
geodimeter
Trade name referring to an instrument that determines surface distances by measuring the length of time it takes for a...
traveling microscope
A measuring instrument composed of a microscope and reticle, and mounted on a calibrated slide mechanism. May be used...
FMCW lidar
FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging)...
focal collimator
A collimator having, at one end of a tube, an objective lens, and at the other, a reticle with a pair of spaced lines...
filar eyepiece
A measuring eyepiece with a screw-micrometer-driven crosshair used to measure the size of the image.
interference microscope
A special form of microscope that utilizes interference for observing and measuring the phase and optical thickness in...
meter
1. The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 in. or 3.28 ft. 2. Any device or instrument used for...
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
quantum cascade laser
A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....
lateral shearing interferometer
A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...
reticle
An optical element located at an image plane, containing a pattern that assists in pointing an instrument or measuring...
telemetry
The science of sensing and measuring information at some remote location and transmitting the data to a convenient location...
microphotometer
An instrument capable of measuring the transmitted or reflected luminance from a very small area seen under a microscope....

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