Photonics Dictionary

Exhibiting the characteristic of materials that are electrical insulators or in which an electric field can be sustained with a minimum dispersion of power. They exhibit nonlinear properties, such as...

A shallow, fine-pitch diffraction grating having a precise dielectric overcoating that experimentally has absorbed wavelength-specific incident light that is polarized in the P-plane.

A high-reflectance coating consisting of alternating layers of quarter-wave film of a higher refractive index and lower refractive index than the substrate. Such coatings can be made very specific to...

A number that indicates the magnitude of the shift in a solid of positive and negative charges in opposite directions when a voltage is applied across the solid.

A crystal that is characterized by its relatively poor electrical conductance.

A waveguide made up of a dielectric material, such as plastic or mica, in a cylindrical form, through which the waves travel.

A lens made up of a dielectric material that is capable of influencing radio waves much in the same way an optical lens influences light.

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

State typically studied in liquid crystals in which the dielectric coefficient parallel to the director is less than the dielectric coefficient perpendicular to the director.

The effect, present in particular phosphors, that is defined as a transformation in the dielectric constant of a material when illuminated.

The dielectric coefficient parallel to the director in a liquid crystal display (LCD), rather than perpendicular to the director.

A waveguide with a rectangular cross section that is composed entirely of dielectric materials.

An optical lens manufactured to control the transmission of light over a specified wavelength range. Low absorption lenses are produced which are anti-reflection coated for UV, VIS and IR wavelengths...

Optic surface cleaning liquid that may be applied to glass, crystal, dielectric and metal surfaces; however, may not be applied to plastic and polymer materials.

1. In astronomy, the angle measured clockwise (eastward) in a horizontal plane, usually from north (true north, Y-north, grid north or magnetic north). 2. With relation to the plane-polarized light...

A beamsplitter is an optical device for dividing a beam into two or more separate beams. A simple beamsplitter may be a very thin sheet of glass inserted in the beam at an angle to divert a portion...

A dielectric ceramic material used in laser capillary tubes because of its high electrical resistivity and high thermal conductivity (half that of copper).

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

Electric polarization characterized by homogeneous polar dielectrics and ascribed to the position of the permanent molecular dipoles.

The use of an electric field or signal to couple a lightwave from one dielectric waveguide into another dielectric waveguide.

Information storage on a dielectric medium that represents the data as those spots on the medium having electrostatic charges, forming an observable record of the data.

Elastic deformation of a dielectric caused by volume force when the dielectric is placed in an inhomogeneous electric field.

A laser with output over a wide range of wavelengths spanning the far-infrared region of the spectrum (30 to 1000 µm); typically, it consists of a metal or dielectric waveguide one to two...

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they possess a permanent electric dipole moment even in the absence of an external...

A capacitor that uses glass as its dielectric material.

Usually a dielectric coating on glass or plastic optics; a coating that is comparable in hardness to glass itself.

A thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric substrate, whose lenses, detectors, filters, couplers and so forth perform...

A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently, these filters are made up of thin layers of metals and dielectrics,...

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

Analysis of the reflection spectrum that allows the determination of the experimental dielectric function.

A surgical device used to deliver laser light. Specifically,contact tips are made with artificially grown sapphire which is precisely cut to an orientation which permits efficient light transmission....

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as an electron) to an oscillating electric field. It is particularly employed...

A dielectric sphere with an index of refraction that varies with distance from the sphere center. A parallel beam of rays is focused on the lens surface at a point diametrically opposite the...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...

An interference filter in which a very thin metal foil with a periodic array of square holes (inductive mesh) or a thin plastic substrate with an array of metal squares (capacitative mesh) is used as...

An optical crystal that possesses a strong nonlinear dielectric response function to optical radiation. A material with a strong second-order nonlinearity must not possess a center of symmetry. See...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

A formulaic description of the linear change of the reciprocal optical dielectric tensor with either stress or strain.

A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric microstructures, such as microspheres or microcylinders. This phenomenon arises due...