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Photonics Dictionary: B

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Becke line

A band of light that appears along the outer edge of a transparent material under microscopic investigation and that moves toward higher refractive indices as the microscope's focus is raised, and...

Beer's law

Transmittance of a stable solution is an exponential function of the concentration of the absorbing solute.

bench -> optical bench

A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...

bench photometer

A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the produced flux densities are equal. The luminous intensities of the two...

Bertrand lens

A small convergent lens, located between the objective and eyepiece of a microscope, that focuses an image of the upper focal plane of the objective in the focal plane of the eyepiece. It is commonly...

beryllium oxide

A dielectric ceramic material used in laser capillary tubes because of its high electrical resistivity and high thermal conductivity (half that of copper).

beta fluorography

The use of a short-duration electron beam to record high-speed events that occur in microscopic objects made of materials that emit visible fluorescence during electron bombardment. The method is...

beta radiation

The high-speed electrons and positrons emitted by radioactive materials.

biaxial crystal

A birefringent crystal having two axes along which there is an absence of double refraction. Mica, sulphur and turquoise are biaxial crystals.

bifurcated fiber

A branched fiber optic lightguide that performs both receiving and transmitting functions.

bin picking

Bin picking, also known as bin picking automation or bin picking robotics, refers to the automated process of selecting and retrieving individual objects or components from a bin, container, or bulk...

binary on-off

Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.

binary optics

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....

binary phase-only filtering -> phase-only filter

A type of matched filter that responds only to the phase of incoming light; the output has a much greater intensity than that of a classical matched filter, which responds to phase and amplitude. The...

binocular microscope

A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.

binocular threshold

The absolute luminance threshold for detection by the two eyes.

binoculars

Binoculars are optical instruments used for magnifying distant objects by using two parallel telescopes mounted side by side. They allow users to see distant objects more clearly and in greater...

bioelectricity

Bioelectricity refers to the electrical potentials and currents generated by biological processes within living organisms. These electrical phenomena arise from the movement of ions across cell...

bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the natural phenomenon where living organisms produce light through a chemical reaction. In the context of photonics, bioluminescence has significant implications for both research...

biometrics

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...

biomimicry

Biomimicry, or biomimetic design, is the practice of emulating natural processes, systems, and structures found in biological organisms to solve human problems or create innovative technologies. It...

biophotonics

The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...

biostimulation

The action of a biological system responding to a single or multiple coherent particles of light produced from a laser source. Examples of laser biostimulation include: retinal interaction of light...

biplanar image tube

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.

bipolar

Refers to transistors in which the working current flows through two types of semiconductor material: N- and P-type. In bipolar transistors, the working current consists of both positive and negative...

biprism

A piece of glass polished flat on one side, with a pair of polished faces that form an angle close to 180° on the other side, the dividing edge running down the middle of the plate. It is used...

birefringence

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...

birefringent filter

A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of alternating layers of polarizing films and plates cut from birefringent crystal.

bispheric condenser -> dark-field condenser

A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used with an objective having a numerical aperture lower than the minimum...

bistability -> optical bistability

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...

bit error rate

The ratio of the number of bits received incorrectly to the total number of bits transmitted digitally in a system.

Bjerrum screen

In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of black velvet with a white spot center at which the patient, 1 m away,...

black hole

A cosmic phenomenon in which the mass and density of a star pass a critical point so that the escape velocity matches the speed of light. For this reason, light and matter are "captured'' by the...

black level

The level of the television picture signal that corresponds to the maximum limit of black peaks.

blackbody

An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all wavelengths. The radiation emitted by such a body when heated is referred to as...

blackbody source

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...

blaze height

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...

bleach (or bleacher)

A chemical used in the developing of positive photographs that incites oxidation and thereby dissolves the negative silver to vary tone, color and intensity.

bleaching -> saturable absorber

A saturable absorber is a type of optical device that exhibits variable absorption properties depending on the intensity of incident light. In essence, it becomes less absorbent as the light...

blind approach beacon system

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...

blink comparator

An optical system that rapidly alternates two similar pictures or scenes to permit the detection of small dissimilarities between them.

BLIP

background-limited infrared photoconductor

blooming

The loss of focus of a camera sensor because of excessive brightness, characterized by the enlargement of spot size and halation on a cathode-ray tube.

blue diode laser

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

Bohr's frequency relation

The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1 are the energies of the states among which transition takes place, and h is...

bombsight

An instrument that determines, or allows a bombardier to determine, the point in the plane's line of flight at which a bomb must be released to hit a specified target.

bore

The central hole running the full length of a laser capillary tube, in which electrical discharge and laser action take place. Also a similar hole in a hollow waveguide or a microchannel plate.

borescope

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or gas mains. The long narrow tube used contains a telescope system with as...

borosilicate glass

A strong, heat-resistant glass that contains a minimum of 5 percent boric oxide.

Bose-Einstein condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein, who independently predicted the...

Photonics DictionaryB

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