Photonics Dictionary

In microscopy, a calibrated scale on a slide that may be viewed to determine the exact magnification factor of the microscope.

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to accurately move and position objects along a linear axis. These stages are...

The component of a microscope on which the sample or slide to be examined is placed. Depending on the design of the microscope, the stage may play a passive role of just supporting the sample or...

In a microscope, the optical assembly that focuses light on the specimen and into the objective.

The second adjustable iris diaphragm in an optical system. In the common microscope condenser system, it usually is located beneath the substage condenser on a transmitted light microscope. When the...

Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple flexures that experiences vertical displacement during horizontal motion; it is...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to automatically inspect and detect defects or anomalies in products. AOI systems use...

Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate intensification stage. This is an in-line device that does not invert the image.

1. In fiber optics, a protective material applied as an optical fiber cover that has no optical function. 2. In image processing, a peripheral that stores data between two active processing stages.

In electronics, the coupling of power from stage to stage by the use of an input or output element in the cathode.

A cascade amplifier that uses a common cathode resistor to couple energy from stage to stage.

In a charge-coupled device, the percentage of each charge packet that is carried over to the next stage of the transport shift register.

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting direct measurement of its size. 2. Also called traveling stage and traveling...

A powerful and flexible machine-learning approach that can be used in machine vision to help solve difficult problems. Inspired by biological processes, multiple layers of neurons process portions of...

Recombination of only the light that is correctly dispersed by the first stage of a polychromator through its wide intermediate slit (common during Thomson scattering experimentation), which is...

Glass of special composition that is melted, formed into desired shapes, and subjected to a high-temperature treatment in which the glass undergoes a stage of nucleic formation, and a second stage,...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

Light produced by visible radiation that moves from the light source to the object without reflection. With respect to microscopy, this is the light that directly strikes the stage of the microscope...

A system for fabricating optical fiber, consisting of a furnace that heats the materials, a polymer coating stage, a capstan-pulling apparatus that free-draws the preform into a fiber and a drum on...

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...

Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of crystalline layers on a substrate material. Epitaxial growth is a critical...

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin piece of transparent material, typically plastic or glass. This design...

The study of crystal growth from the molten stage utilizing a holographic system wherein interferometric techniques record detailed and measurable elements of crystal microstructure. In this way, the...

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a method for detecting antigens or haptens in cells of a tissue section by using labeled antibodies to bind specifically to their antigens. IHC is used for disease...

A two-stage illuminating system for a microscope in which the source is imaged in the aperture of the substage condenser by an auxiliary condenser, and the substage condenser in turn forms an image...

High-voltage, fast-discharge circuit named after its inventor, Erwin Marx. Its capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series. The voltage multiplication achieved with a Marx circuit is...

A specially designed microscope for observing the etched surface of a polished metal specimen. The specimen is often laid face down on a horizontal stage and observed from beneath, the illumination...

An instrument consisting essentially of a tube 160 mm long, with an objective lens at the distant end and an eyepiece at the near end. The objective forms a real aerial image of the object in the...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...

Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or axes. In various technical and engineering contexts, achieving precise...

The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive surface as pits or phase differences and to read such data via reflected light...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....

A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed transparencies is provided with either an elliptical mirror or a plastic Fresnel lens...

A microscope that has an annular stop in the lower focal plane of the condenser, and a quarter-wave retarding and absorbing ring in the upper focal plane of the objective that just fills the image of...

In a linear stage, any deviation from the desired translation across a flat, straight line.

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

Measurement of a translation stage's deviation from absolute straightness, that is, its angular motion in both the vertical and the horizontal planes.

With respect to microscopy, light that is directed through the specimen by a substage condenser.