Search
Menu
Trioptics GmbH - Worldwide Benchmark 4-24 LB
optical element Dictionary Terms

eccentricity
In the tolerancing of optical elements, the displacement of the optical axis from the mechanical axis.
optical component
One or more optical elements – typically cemented together - in an optical system that are treated as a single group;...
laser diode module
A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...
registration shift
A shift in the apparent position of an object when an optical element is added or removed.
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
diffraction efficiency
Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs...
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
Murty interferometer
A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...
wave plate
An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually...
button blocking
The production of a block by attaching the optical elements to a plate by means of individual buttons of pitch or other...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
blocking cement
An adhesive used to hold optical elements to blocking tools. It is usually a thermoplastic substance such as resin, beeswax,...
amplified spontaneous emission
Broadband radiation emitted by a laser that does not transmit through the optical element. It can be removed by filtering.
Airy disc
The central peak (including everything interior to the first zero or dark ring) of the focal diffraction pattern of a...
optical element
An optical part constructed of a single piece of optical material. It is usually a single lens, prism or mirror.
coated optics
Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to...
etaloning
Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...
decentering
1. The grinding or edging of a lens so that the geometrical center and optical center do not coincide. 2. The shifting of an...
stroboscopic interferometry
A pulsed interferometer that permits the continuous quantitative mapping of the surface deformation of an adaptive optical...
Fresnel reflection loss
Reflection losses incurred at input and output of optical elements because of the difference in refractive index between...
light valve
With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active...
Raman fiber probe
A flexible fiber cable with a small diameter that transports light from the excitation laser to the target. Used in Raman...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
aspheric
Not spherical; an optical element having one or more surfaces that are not spherical. The spherical surface of a lens may be...
beam profiling
Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...
phase mask
In optics and photolithography, a phase mask refers to a device that modifies the phase of light waves passing through it....
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...
optical constructor
A system of modular mechanical components for building precision optical systems. The basic equipment includes a variety of...
beauty defect
A defect on or in an optical element that does not appreciably impair the function of the surface.
holography
Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and...
surface
1. In optics, one of the exterior faces of an optical element. 2. The process of grinding or generating the face of an...
Martens wedge
A wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane...
wedge
An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
entrance slit
The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...
contact blocking
Also called color blocking. The formation of a block by making optical contact between a number of optical elements and a...
dig
A cosmetic defect on the surface of an optical element. A dig is nearly equal in terms of its length and width. The size is...
magnifying power
The ability of an optical system to make an object appear larger. An optical element or optical system causing an object to...
Matrix optics
The linear relationship between input and output optical fields for a given optical system or application that allows the...
aplanatic surface
An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and...
edging
The finishing of the edge of an optical element by grinding.
lens testing equipment
Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...
transfer blocking
A process used to control thickness and parallelism precisely during the production of plane-parallel plates. Elements are...
objective
The optical element that receives light from the object and forms the first or primary image in telescopes and microscopes....
volume Bragg gratings
Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index...
optical spectrum
1.) Generally, the electromagnetic spectrum within the wavelength region extending from the vacuum ultraviolet at 40 nm to...
prism
A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...
blocking pitch
An adhesive used to affix optical elements to an approximately shaped body -- usually of cast iron.
minimum angle of deviation
The smallest angle through which light is bent by an optical element or system. In a prism, the angle of deviation is a...
astronomical mirror
An astronomical mirror, also known as a telescope mirror or primary mirror, is a key component of a reflecting telescope. It...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...
optical materials
Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...
optofluidics
Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems...
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...
diffractive optics
Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings,...
Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor
The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...
laser pattern generation
Production of a repeated image of a transmitted beam through a diffractive optical element such as a holographic card or...
deblocking
The removal of optical elements from a block.
infrared lens
An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...
Abbe constant
A dispersion relation defined in order to value the reciprocal amount of dispersion. It is defined as the refractivity over...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...
holographic optical element
A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser...
component
1. A constituent part. It may consist of two or more parts cemented together, or with near and approximately matching...
rotating hologram
A disc composed of a series of holographic optical elements that diffract light at various angles. When spinning, a raster...
unblocking
The process whereby optical elements are removed from a block.
astronomical telescope
An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...
optical axis
The imaginary line passing through both the centers of curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens or mirror; the optical...
diffuse modulation transfer function
Modulation transfer function of an optical element when used for transporting images from a lambertian source such as...
image motion compensation
The active control of various aspects (optical element position, airspace thickness, etc.) of an optical system that...
Dammann grating
A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...
thin-film coating
Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
protective bevel
The removal of a sharp edge on an optical element by grinding, to prevent accidental chipping of that edge during subsequent...
polariscope
A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization...
lattice
In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...
lens element
One optical element of a multielement lens. See optical element.
corrector plate
An optical element designed to correct each zone of a reflector or refractor for spherical aberration.
acousto-optics
Discipline within optical physics that addresses sound vibration, phonon effects and their influencing behavior within...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
compensator
An optical element that measures the phase difference between two components of elliptically polarized light to correct for...
working distance
In microscopy, the clear distance between the specimen being viewed and the first optical element of the objective lens.
motion controller
In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or...
optical cement
A permanent, transparent, and highly transmissive adhesive capable of withstanding extreme temperatures that is applied to...
ring blocking
The formation of a block by attaching optical elements to a plate with a ring of pitch or other thermoplastic material.
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
cement
An adhesive used for bonding optical elements or for holding devices.
angular spectrum approach
The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...
interferometer
An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a...
metal component
An accurate metal prism or plane parallel plate that is cemented to an optical element and remains with it during a series...
solid optics
Optical elements arranged with no spaces between, so that the light travels only through glass, not air.

(100 results found)

Explore Our Content
News
Features
Latest Products
Webinars
White Papers
All Things Photonics Podcast
Videos
Our Summits & Conferences
Industry Events
Bookstore
Join Our Community
Subscribe
Advertise
Become a member
Sign in
Contribute a Feature
Suggest a Webinar
Submit a Press Release
Mobile Apps

About Us
Our Company
Our Publications
Contact Us
Career Opportunities
Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship

Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)



©2024 Photonics Media
100 West St.
Pittsfield, MA, 01201 USA
[email protected]
We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our Privacy Policy. By using this website, you agree to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.