Photonics Dictionary

A combination of components arranged so as to perform at least one function.

Abbreviated SoC. A single chip containing all the electronic circuits required for a complete, working product. SoCs are similar to microcontroller technology but provide additional components. A SoC...

imaging system which clearly shows the IR signals in the field of view as well as ambient environment

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) refers to a set of safety features and technologies designed to assist drivers in the driving process and enhance overall vehicle safety. These systems use...

An aerial reconnaissance system that can transmit, in near real time, image data recorded by IR and visual-spectrum sensors, providing day, night and foul-weather intelligence.

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...

An optical system with different focal lengths or magnification levels in perpendicular planes to the optical axis.

A system in which a sequence of direct measurements of the target position is fed into a tracking filter that may produce refined estimates of past, present and future target positions.

A system that satisfies the Abbe sine condition, and is free from spherical aberration and coma.

An optical system that is corrected chromatically for three colors simultaneously.

An optical system having one or more lens or mirror components that have nonspherical surfaces. These surfaces, whether reflecting or refracting, serve to advance or retard the incident wavefront,...

A means of adjusting the sharpness of an image automatically, with a sensor for estimating distance or contrast and a drive mechanism to adjust the lens. Active systems generate a light source to...

Any instrument or system carried by a balloon to the upper atmosphere to measure and record atmospheric information, such as radiation observations, while reducing atmospheric interference.

A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind) approach in landing. The signal is transmitted to the aircraft's L-scan...

A two-mirror lens design used in astronomical telescopes, the primary being a parabola, the secondary a smaller hyperbola. The image formed is free of spherical aberration and color and is located...

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and mirrors vary from system to system, the use of the reflective surfaces to...

An optical system in which the only image-forming elements are curved-surface mirrors; e.g., a Cassegrain lens system.

A lens system in which the centers of curvature of all surfaces fall on a common axis.

A photoelectrically controlled, alphanumeric reading device that converts characters to audible or sorting signals which can be fed to a computer, electric typewriter, tapepunch or other machine.

Methodology for specifying color based on the CIE sources, observers, and coordinate system.

A television system that does not broadcast television signals but transmits them over a closed circuit.

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS bio-optical sensor with LEDs as the optical excitation source to achieve...

A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical instruments to determine pulse code, repetition frequency and wavelength.

A camera system capable of producing microfilm copies of computerized data presented on a screen.

A system that determines whether an image is in or out of focus by means of a source of illumination at the conjugate focal point, which reflects off the target; the return beam is mediated by masks...

A pixel-based computer graphics system that simulates the tools of an artist.

The logarithmic method of determining emulsion speeds developed by the German standards organization, Deutscher Normenausschuss, in which the speed of the emulsion is doubled for each increase of...

An optical system that uses refraction to form an image.

An optical system having two sets of components separated by an air space, while successive lenses in each set are cemented together.

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...

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...

Enhanced picture archiving and communication system (PACS) display (ePAD) is a software tool used in medical imaging to view, manipulate, and analyze radiological images, such as X-rays, CT scans,...

Lenses or prisms that serve to erect the image; i.e., to bring the image upright after it has been inverted by the objective.

A system designed to control the output quantity of a device by returning a portion of its output signal to its input. This results in the manipulation of the input quantity so that the desired...

A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally consists of a gated pulsed flashlamp or a cavity dumped dye laser...

A system of sensors and related instrumentation that allows a navigable object (usually a missile) to locate its destination by some distinguishing characteristics of that target, and then calculate...

A system that transmits and receives identification codes to facilitate the discrimination between enemy and friend in a tactical situation.

A system that uses infrared detectors and related instrumentation to determine when abnormal amounts of infrared radiation, usually in the form of heat, are present in an area; used for the detection...

Visible laser radiation, often optically expanded and collimated, used to induced temporary blindness from within a walking distance of an impending target. Laser dazzle systems may be in a handheld...

Two or more lenses arranged to act in conjunction with one another.

A device used to evaluate the quality of fiber optic splices made in the field by injecting light into the cladding of the fiber and measuring the output at the other end of the splice.

In fiber optic communications systems, generally one that operates between 1000 and 1700 nm.

A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...

Refers to micron-size complex machines that have physical dimensions suitable for the fabrication of optical switches for use in state-of-the-art communications networks.

Equipment that supports microscopic live-cell imaging by managing the gas, media perfusion, temperature and other factors to which a sample is exposed. While reducing the negative impacts these...

A camera copying system that can reduce originals onto 35- or 16-mm film for easy storage.

Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in spite of the large number of molecules. Photochemistry and optical...

Founded by professor Albert Munsell. In the field of colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that identifies a given color based on three different color measurements. These...

The code used to describe the United States system of color telecasting.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...