Photonics Dictionary

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of various materials, including carbon, boron nitride, or other compounds....

A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest which is provided by multiple scans within the near-field region of a...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation of the electrical field of the target beam. This technique is also referred...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through or be blocked in a manner analogous to an electronic gate controlling the...

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well as in other light-sensitive tissues. These proteins play a crucial role in...

A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses the Peltier effect to transfer heat between two electrical junctions. It can...

The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols, semiconductor crystals and plasmas, to replicate a laser beam by reversing...

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical quantity. In such sensors, variations in the phase of the signal are...

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely used in various applications where high sensitivity, fast response times,...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term "photovoltaic" is derived from the words "photo," meaning light, and...

The interaction between electrical and mechanical stress-strain factors in a material. When piezoelectric crystal is compressed, an electrostatic voltage is generated across it, or when an electric...

Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical vibrations or vice versa. The piezoelectric effect is a property exhibited by...

Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in response to applied mechanical stress or strain. This change in resistance...

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals. The name "PIN" is derived from the arrangement of the three semiconductor...

A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics. It is a versatile and powerful device used for emitting coherent light in...

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of photonics or electronics, converts incoming photons (light) into a useful output...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally introduced into the crystal lattice of a material to modify its properties....

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications due to its exceptional optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Sapphire...

Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed for scientific and industrial imaging applications. Unlike traditional...

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 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...

The ability of an electrical current to destroy superconductivity by means of the magnetic field generated by the current. The temperature of the material is not raised, and the effect is identical...

A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical signals, down to the level of single photons. SPADs are widely used in...

Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering. Sputtering is a method of depositing thin films of material onto a substrate surface...

The splitting or shifting of spectral lines or energy levels caused by the application of a strong transverse electrical field. It often is studied with a canal-ray tube that has a third electrode...

Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera, to detect and visualize the infrared radiation emitted by objects. This...

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over time. In the time domain, signals are represented as functions of time, showing...

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the field of experimental physics, biophysics, and fluorescence lifetime imaging...

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an amplitude or voltage signal. TACs are commonly used in various scientific and...

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields, including electronics, acoustics, and instrumentation, to facilitate the...

A Pockels cell in which electrical current is applied in a direction orthogonally to that of the light beam.

A form of liquid crystal widely used in displays, achieved by sandwiching a liquid crystal material between two substrates whose inside surfaces have been prepared with a special coating that aligns...