Photonics Dictionary

A three-dimensional grating designed with thin metal sheets to remain opaque to all but one specific and predetermined wave.

A sheet of plastic material containing microscopic crystals of herapathite or some other similar substance that transmits light polarized in one direction, but absorbs light polarized in a...

Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and fast biological processes in vivo. In this method, a light sheet illuminates...

A point source of light used for the test and evaluation of image quality. May be a backlit pinhole in an otherwise opaque sheet placed at an appropriately large distance from the lens being tested.

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 sheet of thin brass, one edge of which has been accurately cut to a known and marked circular radius. It is used to check the radius of curvature of a rough-ground lens by contact.

A portable instrument that uses a four-sided reflecting prism or set of mirrors to create a duplicate image of an object on a horizontal sheet, on which outlines of the subject may be traced by hand.

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

A method of producing large volumes of plastic optical components in which powdered or sheet plastic is pressed between heated dies.

A polarizer that consists of dichroic polarizing material embedded in a plastic sheet, and that transmits light that is almost completely plane polarized with an intensity that is half that of the...

An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is used to create a more even or uniform illumination, reduce glare, or soften...

The subtractive imbibing process of transferring color prints on paper whereby the dyes from three separately prepared images are transferred to one sheet of paper to form the color print.

The face of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) that has a fiber optic sheet attached to its surface. The sheet's fibers are at right angles to the face, allowing the transmittance of the fluorescent trace...

A camera with a very high aperture lens or mirror system for photographing x-ray fluorescent screen images, mainly to save the cost of large pieces of 11 x 14-in. film. The film may be 4 x 5-in. cut...

The process of binding or attaching larger metal sheets by laser welding. The effect is generated by higher power densities which, while creating a larger weld, produce a vapor that is penetrated by...

An alphanumeric display formed by a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between two sheets of glass; a transparent conductive coating on the glass is etched to form the character segments. An...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...

A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed during exposure, and one in which the film is exposed while moving past an...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of various materials, including carbon, boron nitride, or other compounds....

A whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is seeded with micron-sized particles. CCD or CMOS cameras and laser light sheets...

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze stress distribution and behavior in materials. photoelastic equipment...

The use of photoetching techniques to produce small tools, parts and dies from sheet metal.

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

A filter that polarizes light passing through it. It is possible to fabricate sheets of plastic or gelatin that contain birefringent crystals so oriented as to pass only polarized light. Such sheets...

1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. and it is exact for a parabola. 2. Conforming a sheet of glass to a...

Derived from "self-focusing,'' Nippon Sheet Glass Co. (NSG) of Japan's trade name for graded-index fiber rods with parabolic index profile, suitable for use as cylindrical microlenses.

Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared markers for small animal multiplex imaging. Emitting at different...

A type of camera that has scales or other arrangements by which successive exposures can be lined up and equally spaced on a sheet of film. It is used in the preparation of microfiche copies of...

Wavy transparent line in a sheet of glass appearing as though a thread of glass had been incorporated into the sheet.

A solar cell that uses a thermoelectric converter, consisting of two sheets of metal with a semiconductor sandwiched between them, to generate electricity.

The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie temperature in regions of the image. The image is contacted with paramagnetic...

A naturally occurring crystalline mineral that has the property of polarizing transmitted light. It is little used now that the Polaroid sheet is available.

A screen composed of a sheet of diffusing plastic material that reveals excellent image detail for close viewing. It is efficient for use with microfilm readers.