Photonics Dictionary: I

Fluorescence formed when atoms of one element collide with excited atoms of another.

Qualitatively, the inverse of the amount of velocity produced by the application of a sinusoidal force to a system; therefore, if velocity is high, impedance at that point is low. Quantitatively,...

An alien, electrically charged atomic system in a solid; an ion substituted for the constituent atom or ion in a crystal lattice, or located in an interstitial site in the crystal.

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it refers to experiments or procedures conducted outside of a living organism,...

The formation of a hologram by single reference-beam interferences with waves that are diffracted or scattered from a small object.

A flaw deliberately introduced into an optical fiber to prepare it for cleaving.

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in a refractive material for a given wavelength.

A laser diode with an output beam contained in the active layer by means of a built-in refractive index profile formed in that layer or in the adjacent cladding layers or both.

The light formed by visible radiation that, in traveling from light source to object, undergoes one or more reflections. In microscopy, it is the light that falls on the object at right angles to the...

Metal used in components of the crystalline semiconductor alloys indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), indium gallium arsenide phosphide (InGaAsP), and the binary semiconductor indium phosphide (InP)....

A semiconductor material that is used as an infrared detector for light up to 5 µm in wavelength.

An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. InGaAs is a semiconductor material that is...

Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors, where elements from groups III and V of the...

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are ordinary cells that are genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state to allow the human cells to be used for therapeutic purposes....

Inductance is a fundamental property of an electrical circuit or component that describes its ability to store energy in a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it. It is typically...

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by supplying electrical energy to the electron beam through a series of transformers.

A shutter in which the opening and closing times for a large aperture setting occupy a substantial fraction of the total exposure time so that apertures and time pair readings from an exposure meter...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to release energy. In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...

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...

A thermal infrared imaging procedure developed for quality control of printed circuit boards. The thermogram of each board under test is compared with a standard thermal profile and then with a...

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the infrared radiation emitted by objects, revealing temperature variations across...

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

A filter exhibiting transparency, absorption or reflectance characteristics specifically for spectral control of wavelengths longer than 700 µm.

An image converter that produces a visible image based on the infrared emittance of the object. The infrared energy is focused on a photocathode that emits electrons. These are accelerated and...

Any of the photoelectric and thermal detectors, spectrographs and monochromators, thermographs, scanners, amplifier tubes, snooperscopes and related equipment developed for use with infrared...

An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating infrared (IR) radiation within the infrared spectrum. These lenses are used in...

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is...

An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current passes through it. Similar to standard LEDs that emit visible light, IR LEDs are...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies beyond the visible spectrum. These components are crucial for various...

A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to or following its excitation by visible radiant energy.

Photographic recording that uses infrared radiation as the light source to form an image of a microscopic object and a system of lenses and objectives that are transparent to the radiation. The image...

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It contains an internal modulator to amplitude-modulate the output signal, an...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It usually consists of a radiation source such as a Nernst glower, a monochromator,...

Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but shorter than those of microwaves. The infrared spectrum spans wavelengths...

An InGaAs photodiode refers to a photodetector device that is constructed using a semiconductor material composed of a combination of indium (In), gallium (Ga), and arsenic (As). The term InGaAs...

Injection locking, also known as injection-phase locking or injection-phase control, is a phenomenon in which a weak signal is synchronized with a stronger signal due to the injection of energy or...

A process by which a plastic cell is molded around a glass lens or lenses to create a mount, eliminating the metal barrel and the need for glass-to-metal seals.

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its external environment, including peripherals, storage devices, networks, and...

The horizontal distance between the 90° meridian of a bifocal lens and the geometrical center of the segment.

A method that produces low-loss optical fibers. A glass tube rotates while reactants pass through the tube and heat is externally applied by a burner that traverses the tube. The oxidizable vapors in...

A small round mirror on the end of a handle used for viewing inside an inaccessible cavity.

A reflection hologram using multiple color lasers that integrates various graphical techniques to allow the display of three-dimensional images of live objects in motion, as well as outdoor scenes,...

A type of laser for which a large number of the components can be fabricated in or upon a single substrate.

An optical circuit, either monolithic or hybrid, composed of active and passive components, used for coupling between optoelectronic devices and providing signal processing functions.

A thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric substrate, whose lenses, detectors, filters, couplers and so forth perform...

Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The...