Photonics Dictionary: L

A homogeneous optical medium or coating that transmits only in particular regions of the spectrum. It is used to change or modify the total or relative energy distribution of a beam of light.

A device that is designed to modulate a beam of light, usually from a laser source, by acting upon the beam directly. The three general types of devices operate in an acousto-optic, electro-optic or...

In optics, a pattern, such as the Buchmann-Meyer pattern, that may be viewed when the record surface is illuminated by a light beam having parallel rays.

The fraction of incident light power in an optical modulator that is available to the output beam.

With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active optical element, to convert an electrical charge image to an optical image....

The apparent visual angle that divides intrabeam viewing from extended-source viewing.

Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly polarized light signals in various applications, such as optical...

A Michelson-type interference microscope used to produce interference patterns of reflective specimens through the interference between light reflected by the specimen and that reflected by a...

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the intensity, phase, or polarization of light passing through it using liquid...

An interference microscope that uses a light beam originating from a low-coherence light source. The sample is placed in one interferometer arm, and the other arm provides a reference beam. The...

A laser effect used especially for laser light shows. Lumia are created by placing a distorting medium such as rippled glass in the path of the laser beam.

A high-resolution spectroscopic device commonly used in the early 20th century as a component of double-beam interferometers. Light introduced at one end of the plane-parallel glass plate will be...

A dielectric sphere with an index of refraction that varies with distance from the sphere center. A parallel beam of rays is focused on the lens surface at a point diametrically opposite the...