A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The interferometer must be used with nearly monochromatic...

A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation....

An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually...

The standards of MIL-O-13830 set by the US government relative to tolerable surface scratches and other such defects in an...

An early form of photographic media consisting of glass plates coated with an emulsion.

Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates,...

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

A double-plate device used to transmit polarized light and form interference fringes of the light, thus indicating its...

Also known as HCS, an analytical method designed to collect statistically relevant amounts of quantitative data on many...

A transparent lead-lanthanum zirconate titanate ceramic with optical qualities that can be controlled by applying voltages...

A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of...

Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical...

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

In image processing, the location of edges by employing templates that respond to the first or second derivative of...

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

A device used to create a light output that exceeds light input, the energy being provided by an electric field. It consists...

A spectrometer equipped with polarizing prisms and retardation plates that is used in the analysis of elliptically polarized...

In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle...

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

A memory system composed of a stack of holographic plates, a mode-locked laser and a rapid detector array. Ultrashort laser...

A type of flat panel display made up of a layer of gas between two glass plates. The glass is coated with parallel...

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

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

A vacuum tube with an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at the other. Electrons emitted from a heated...

Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The...

A transmission interference microscope that produces interference patterns of a sample by using birefringent plates that...

A quarter- or half-wave retarder made from two plates of quartz, mica or polymer with their fast axes crossed; the...

A process used to control thickness and parallelism precisely during the production of plane-parallel plates. Elements are...

The process whereby a rotating wheel carries grains of an abrasive, suspended in a vehicle, across the surface of the...

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

A specialized form of diffraction grating consisting of assembled glass plates of equal thickness that resemble a flight of...

A chart, either printed on paper or prepared photographically on glass plates or film, that consists of 3-bar resolution...

A metal coil or coils wrapped around the outside of the neck of a cathode-ray tube. Current passing through the coils...

Two flat parallel electrodes that are vertically mounted alongside each other in a cathode-ray tube and produce horizontal...

A method of measuring microbending losses in optical fiber by sandwiching a length of fiber between two parallel plates,...

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

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

A structure consisting of a thin film of liquid crystal sandwiched between light-polarizing filters that have received a...

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

A superposition of many zone plates, each reconstructing a real and virtual point image at the appropriate locations upon...

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

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

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

A cement used to reduce crosstalk in fiber optic bundles or plates.

The fringes used in the Jamin interferometer and produced by light that has been internally and externally reflected by two...

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

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

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set...

A neutral-colored gelatin wedge, cast between glass plates, that is used as an intensity scale in certain types of...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...

Also known as constant angle or constant deviation fringes. The interference fringes observed with dense flat plates near...

The multiple beam form of Brewster's fringes formed when the two plane-parallel plates have high-reflecting surfaces.

A test for spherical aberration, coma or astigmatism in which incident rays from a point source are isolated by small holes...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...

Plates of glass containing as many heavy metal oxides as can be dissolved in the glass without causing devitrification. The...

Separation of incident laser pulses by several seconds so holographic plates can be changed and sandwiched between the...

Spectra can be conveniently recorded on photographic film or plates. The portions that are occupied by regions of the...

An absorbing coating medium between fibers, used in some fused fiber optic plates to absorb unwanted light. Such coatings...

The capacitance of a capacitor which has a potential difference of one volt between its plates when it is charged by one...

A type of camera that has scales or other arrangements by which successive exposures can be lined up and equally spaced on a...

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