Photonics Dictionary

A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In other words, semiconductors have properties that are intermediate between...

A device used in measuring attenuation in optical fiber. The loss caused by the bends in a short reference length of fiber approximates that of a much longer fiber under test.

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system. It is widely used in adaptive optics systems to correct distortions and...

Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between 1,000 and 3,000 nanometers (nm). In the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared...

A mechanical or electronic device used to control the amount of time that a light-sensitive material is exposed to radiation.

A device used to measure the opening time of a shutter. The most common devices depend on the charging or discharging of an electrical condenser, or on the production of a curve of open area against...

Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is applied to them. These LEDs are made using silicon carbide as the...

A solid-state device, composed of silicon, that is used to convert radiation into electrical energy.

A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector specifically designed for detecting and measuring light intensity. Silicon...

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...

An optical projection device designed to project positive color transparencies onto a screen for viewing.

An array of active optical devices (modulators, laser diodes and/or detectors), each of whose electrical inputs or outputs are directly connected to electronic logic circuits, which also are a part...

A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting wafers. A photon with sufficient energy striking the cell can dislodge an...

A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for testing and research purposes. Solar simulators are employed in various...

In micropositioning, a remote positioning device in which an electric current drives a movable armature mounted on an electromagnetic coil.

Device that uses a coherent reference wave to record the interference patterns produced by incident ultrasonic waves on an object.

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light in two dimensions, typically in the form of an array. SLMs are...

Average wavelength usually determined for light-transmitting devices by taking a weighted average for each wavelength of the spectral energy distribution of incident light, transmittance of the...

Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry by utilizing spectral information from fluorochromes to enhance...

An automatic scanning instrument that is used to study a substance's fluorescence over a wide range of wavelengths. It consists of a radiation source, a grating that functions as the monochromator in...

A spectroradiometer is a device used to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. It provides a detailed spectral distribution of light, breaking...

A scanning device used to cyclically tune through a given frequency range to determine the amplitude-frequency distribution of the signals present, usually by displaying output on a chart or...

A tiny lens (as small as 100 µm in diameter) used to focus light on charge-coupled devices, formed by heating a photosensitive material exposed through a mask, leaving a pattern of raised...

A device through which scintillations are observed or counted through a magnifying lens system.

A permanent joint whose purpose is to couple optical power among two or more ports. Also, a device whose purpose is to couple optical power between a waveguide and a source or detector.

1. A stereoscope that has adjustable scales to allow the determination of distances and dimensions from stereoscopic photographs. 2. A device used to view pictures of the same section of the night...

Wide-field, low-magnification device that consists of two compound microscopes focused on a single object, producing an erect three-dimensional image.

The photographing of a scene from positions corresponding to the locations of both eyes. A viewing device is used to present one picture to each eye for fusion of the retinal images, giving a...

A high-speed network or subnetwork that provides a connection between servers and data storage devices.

A device that produces brief flashes of light for observing the behavior of an object during a short interval. One of the most effective means for accomplishing this is a gaseous tube energized by...

A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various fields, such as electronics, biology, chemistry, and manufacturing, the term...

A detector sensitive only to signals close to or at a particular frequency that is the same as the frequency of a control signal applied independently. The synchronous detector also is...

A device for extracting a portion of the optical signal from a fiber.

The use of head-mounted displays and body-operated remote actuators to control distant machinery. Provides a virtual environment for humans to control devices, robots, etc., in a hostile real...

An afocal optical device made up of lenses or mirrors, usually with a magnification greater than unity, that renders distant objects more distinct, by enlarging their images on the retina.

A device designed to enlarge the image of a microscopic object by television process. It may be a flying spot scanner that is used to scan the microscope slide, or a camera tube-microscope...

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to remote receivers. The video and audio components are transmitted...

Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1 and 10 terahertz. One terahertz is equivalent to one trillion hertz, or...

An optical matrix that does not require perfection in both states of the crosspoint, so that all the optical switches can be tap-off devices in which a fraction of the optical energy is transferred...

The process of attaching a device to the end of a fiber cable to enable the beam to be transmitted farther, to pass to another device and to avoid reflection.