Photonics Dictionary: M

A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It consists of a micro-sized, gas-filled spherical cavity (the "microbubble")...

The formation of transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and other electronic elements directly on a flake of silicon by etching and selective absorption of doping elements. A circuit diagram...

A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small screen. Unlike traditional displays, microdisplays are typically very compact...

A small card (10 x 15 cm) that has been treated with a photographic emulsion to record and store the microimages of documents and graphic information projected on it by a microfilm camera. A...

A device used to view microfilmed documents where the image on film is projected, in magnified form, onto a rear projection screen for viewing.

A graphic reproduction of an object formed by a microscope or another optical system. Also an instrument used to make tiny writing, etching, or engravings.

A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each individual lens in the array is referred to as a microlens. These...

The formation of microimages for microreduction. The technique is used, for example, in the production of precision reticles or resolution charts. The sensitized materials used in the process must...

A photograph reduced to the microscopic scale and stored on a microfilm as seen with microfiches for the purpose of storing and archiving information.

A miniature projecting device designed to enhance and reproduce the image generated by a smaller image-forming instrument. Microprojectors can be used to determine the image-forming qualities of...

An instrument consisting essentially of a tube 160 mm long, with an objective lens at the distant end and an eyepiece at the near end. The objective forms a real aerial image of the object in the...

A microspectroscope equipped with a sensing and recording device, such as a camera, to measure the spectrum formed by microscopic samples.

The holographic recording of the pattern formed by two sets of coherent microwaves that interfere at a scanning plane. A scanning device converts the microwave interference pattern into a light...

The pattern of microwave field intensity that can be obtained by detecting the minute expansion of a microwave absorber slab when heated by the microwave field, accompanied by moiré interference of a...

A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range, typically spanning wavelengths from approximately 3 to 12 µm. This...

MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is categorized into three main regions based on wavelength:...

Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as light) by spherical particles. Unlike Rayleigh scattering, which is...

Former name of the nanometer, 10-9 m.

The Mills Cross telescope is a two dimensional radio telescope in which the two antenna arrays are positioned perpendicular to each other to form the shape of a cross. Each antenna consists of...

The smallest angle through which light is bent by an optical element or system. In a prism, the angle of deviation is a minimum if the incident and exiting rays form equal angles with the prism...

Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system is capable of producing a sharp and focused image. In photography, this term...

The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the quality of the focusing optics, aperture and focal length, beam irradiance...

The smallest area of uniform brightness that can be seen by the eye. It is measured in terms of the solid angle subtended by that area from the eye.

A smooth, highly polished surface, for reflecting light, that may be plane or curved if wanting to focus and or magnify the image formed by the mirror. The actual reflecting surface is usually a thin...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly curved piece of glass or other substrate that serves as the starting point for...

An image-forming system having curved mirrors in place of transparent glass components. Mirror lenses are commonly used for astronomical purposes as well as cheap solutions for very long focal length...

A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are essential components in optical setups for reflecting light or redirecting laser...

A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a traditional oscilloscope and a logic analyzer. It is designed to capture and display...

Combining light beams, usually of unlike frequencies, to form a single beam with a frequency that is equal to the frequency sum or difference of the original beams. The resultant 'beat' frequency is...

In compact disc systems, the two principal frame formats for data storage. Mode 1 devotes 2048 bytes to user data, reserving 288 bytes for error detection and correction over and above the CIRC...

In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal modes. Longitudinal modes are specific electromagnetic field patterns that...

Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal mode to another. In a laser, different longitudinal modes represent distinct...

A form of laser output noise that is caused by thermal, mechanical, or acoustical disturbances of the cavity length. Mode sweeping occurs when the length of the laser cavity changes as a result of...

Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) that is employed to produce...

A zone plate produced by a computer and having a binary structure that can be etched into a chromium or quartz layer. It often is used in laser machining, in which the machining of small holes with...

MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer function (MTF) of optical systems. The MTF is a quantitative measure of the...

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

An optical interference technique widely utilized as a method of nondestructive testing when determining the ray deflection and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of an optical system associated...

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern developed from interference or light blocking, when gratings, screens or regularly...

A blank whose basic surface curves are attained by heating and forming a given weight of raw glass; a rough glass blank resembling the finished lens in size and shape. After molding, a precision lens...

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such as glass or plastic, into the desired lens shape. This process involves...

A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can convert light energy into mechanical motion at the molecular level. These...

Spectrum analysis concerned with the spectra formed by transitions in molecules.

With respect to a crystal, a monoclinic crystal consists of three unequal axes, two of which intersect each other obliquely and yet still form right angles to the third.

A molecule that has the ability to chemically combine with other molecules to form a polymer, hence being capable of being polymerized. See polymer; polymerization

A matrix-controlled display that has no information storage at the display surface.

A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for applications including feature extraction and image segmentation in machine vision and...