Photonics Dictionary

The successive analysis or synthesizing of the light values or other similar characteristics of the components of a picture area, following a given method.

Also called scanning laser acoustic microscope. A device that uses high-frequency ultrasound waves to penetrate surfaces. A scanning laser beam is used as a detector, which transmits information...

A light, radar or electron beam used to scan according to a particular method.

Measures by heterodyning interferometry the local slope of a vibrating sample. The method allows the reconstruction of a three dimensional map of the surface in order to determine the slope and...

In field-sequential color television, the rotating tricolor disc placed between the subject and the lens, or between the picture tube and the viewer.

The picture formed by the scanning beam of electrons in a scanning electron microscope.

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the surfaces of solid specimens. SEM achieves this by...

A device composed of a light source and phototube used to scan a moving strip of material in photoelectric side-register control systems.

1. The continuous thin strip marked by the scanning beam. Generally, during return of the scan, the line is blanked out. 2. The thin strip marked by the scanning process and composed of the...

A microdensitometer that contains a scanning stage to provide simultaneous representations of position vs. density.

A contour mapping technique that uses electronic scanning and sampling techniques instead of a reference grating (see moire topography; projection moire topography) to obtain moire fringes, producing...

See atomic force microscope; magnetic force microscope; near-field scanning optical microscope; scanning tunneling microscope.

A spectroradiometer having a means to scan different regions of the light spectrum, providing simultaneous representations of amplitude vs. wavelength of the spectrum.

The picture area scanned per second.

The spot illuminated on a cathode-ray tube by the initial impact of the scanning ray and the screen.

A high-resolution imaging instrument that can detect and measure the positions of individual atoms on the surface of a material. A very fine conductive probe is placed at a distance of 10 to 20...

Scanning characterized by the generation of a plane or right circular cone with a vertex angle of about 180° by the direction of maximum radiation.

A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture in front of the illumination source and the other at the focal position in...

A scanning technique in which the object is illuminated the entire time, and in which picture elements of the object are viewed singly by the television camera.

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

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...

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

The process by which the light from the images of photographic film is encoded into electrical signals for video transmission.

A method used in facsimile scanning that sweeps the elemental area across the copy in a spiral motion as the result of the movement of a single turn helix against a stationary bar.

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the instrument is an automated microtome and microscope capable of producing...

A scanning probe microscope that analyzes the surface of a specimen by recording the intensity of light as it is focused through a pipette and raster scanned across the specimen at a distance less...

A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest which is provided by multiple scans within the near-field region of a...

In a cathode-ray tube, the deflection of the beam of the tube over an angle that surpasses the angle that subtends the suitable area of the screen.

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather than sequentially scanning each source one after another. This approach is...

Laws that predict the maximum power output as a function of tube diameter for a hydrogen cyanide laser of a given discharge length and cavity losses, all other parameters being optimized.

Technique using a fiber optic assembly to illuminate an opaque object and transmit an image back from it without a lens system on the distal end.

Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors, to capture images of the Earth's surface or other objects. In pushbroom...

A two-dimensional scanning process, in which a slow sector scan, propagated in one direction, is superimposed at right angles upon a rapid sector scan.

The scanning of a region in a given sequence of slender, straight parallel strips.

Raster scanning process like that of television: each line is scanned successively.

A scanning process in which the greatest amount of radiation determines part of a spiral motion rotating in one direction.

A scanning technique in which the optical density of the film being scanned controls the speed of deflection of the scanning beam.

A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to rapidly and precisely direct a laser beam or other light source to...

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate or control the intensity, frequency, phase, or direction of laser beams. It...

Photographing of terrain on the ground and objects in the air by cameras mounted in aircraft; utilized in satellites, multispectral scanning and intricate data handling systems.

A category of systems designed to communicate a photo taken from the air (e.g., aircraft, balloon, satellite) to a ground station. It can be done by direct television transmission of the photo, or by...

A loss of resolution or detail in a television signal caused by the size of the electron scanning beam.

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a single snapshot or exposure. Unlike line scan, which captures images one line at...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials science, and biology. It is a type of scanning probe microscope that...

An optical scanning device designed to read information printed in the form of bars of different size by detection and processing of the varying reflectivity of light in the barcode.