Photonics Dictionary

A charged elementary particle of an atom; the term is most commonly used in reference to the negatively charged particle called a negatron. Its mass at rest is me = 9.109558 x 10-31 kg, its charge is...

A spectrum band that is usually found in the visible or the ultraviolet because of the electron transitions taking place within the molecules.

A stream of electrons emitted by a single source that move in the same direction and at the same speed.

A maser that relies on the fact that electrons in orbital motion in high-magnetic fields will emit energy at the cyclotron frequency. The transfer of energy is from the bunching of the electrons by...

Any device in which the passage of electrons through a vacuum, gas or semiconductor is the principal means of conduction.

The bending of an electron stream that occurs when the stream travels through a medium such as very thin metal foil.

A special evacuated camera equipped with means for holding a specimen and bombarding it with a sharply focused beam of electrons. A cylindrical film is placed around the specimen to record the...

The freeing of electrons from an electrode into the surrounding space.

In a cathode tube, the electrode that serves as a source for electrons.

An electrostatic device that uses an electric potential barrier to allow the transmittance of electrons at or above a set level of energy while stopping the passage of those below it.

A cathode-ray tube that increases the brightness or size of an image or forms a visible image from invisible radiation. The focal plane for the optical image is a large, light-sensitive, cold...

An electric field produced to influence an electron stream much in the same manner that a lens affects a light beam.

That branch of metallurgy that uses electron microscopic techniques in the examination of the nature of metals.

The photographic recording of images produced by the electrons from an electron microscope. The electron beam carries the images through an array of three lenses, and an enlarged electron image is...

The photographic recording, and later enlarging, of very thin specimens, using an electron beam to form the image.

A device utilizing an electron beam for the observation and recording of submicroscopic samples with the aid of photographic emulsions or other short-wavelength sensors. With the electron microscope,...

An electron instrument used to reflect an electron beam totally.

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

A CCD device in which a solid-state electron multiplying register has been added to the end of the normal serial register. The electron multiplying register allows weak signals to be multiplied...

The control of free electron movement through the use of electrical or magnetic fields, and use of this electron movement in research investigation of electronic diffraction phenomena, directly...

An electron-beam tube with power-handling capability that is essentially based on controlled electron beams. Its control and screen grids are basically in alignment.

An analytical technique used to determine the nature of extremely small samples by forming the x-ray spectrum of the samples through excitation by a finely focused electron beam.

The deflection of a beam of electrons, at regular intervals, across a cathode-ray tube screen, according to a definite pattern.

A method for detecting vibration amplitudes analogous to image holography, except that the film emulsion is replaced by a television target.

The theory and interpretation of spectra produced by the electron emissions of substances after their irradiation by x-rays.

An advanced magnetic device used in x-ray lithography to beam x-rays onto the surface of silicon wafers used for semiconductor circuits.

An instrument that serves to produce an enlarged electron image on a fluorescent screen by focusing an infrared image of a distant object upon a photosensitive cathode.

Approximation of a system of thermal equilibrium formed by the distribution of the kinetic energies of electrons in a gas discharge to which a temperature value is frequently ascribed. The average...

A method of erasable optical data storage in which information is stored by visible light, then read by illumination with an infrared source that returns trapped electrons to their ground state....

The use of a tightly focused beam of electrons to drill minute holes in substances. The drilling is accomplished by the evaporation of the material in the desired circumference by the intense heat of...

A method of thin-film deposition in which electrons boiled off a heated cathode are used to melt the coating material. If a multipocket crucible is used, many materials can be processed at the same...

The method by which photographic film is scanned by an electron beam. One technique uses the uniform light of a television screen, focused by a lens onto the processed film, as a means of creating a...

1. A device generally used in a cathode-ray or camera tube to emit a stream of electrons moving at uniform velocity in a straight line. It consists of an emitting cathode and an anode, with an...

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

The recording of the information contained in a modulated electron beam onto photographic or silicon resin-coated materials. A direct recording method involves the passage of the recording medium...

An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find applications in various fields, including cathode ray tubes (CRTs), electron...

The point at which short-wavelength transmission is cut off.

The bands of spectral lines representing the electronic transition in a molecule.

A small xenon-filled tube with metal electrodes fused into the ends. The gas flashes brilliantly when a condenser is discharged through the tube. The duration of the flash is primarily dependent upon...

A method that uses electronic means to move the scanning spot along the scanning line.

A mechanical shutter that has had its timing escapement replaced with an electronic timing circuit. This circuit allows a wider range of exposure times, can be more accurate, and, placed in a circuit...

A term applied to the recording of video images by means of magnetic tape or disc, so that the image's record can be played back in a video format at a later time.

A small television monitor that replaces the reflex viewfinder in a television camera.

In target tracking, a technique for speeding up the image processing by removing bunches of pixels that are outside the area of interest.

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

That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of electrical energy flowing through gases, vacuums, semiconductors and conductors, not...