Photonics Dictionary: P

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 motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or displacement. Piezoelectric materials exhibit the piezoelectric effect, which...

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...

Pitch for polishing mixed with other materials to give it the right viscosity so that it will follow the fine-ground lens surface and yet maintain contact at all times.

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

A device used in the sputtering of thin films, in which a magnet system on the back of the cathode deflects the electrons, lengthening the ionization path. The accelerated ions transfer their...

A manufacturing process used to construct substrates for large optical components. Used with IR materials, planform bonding permits the joining of several smaller pieces to be used in place of a...

Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production of optical coatings. This method combines two key processes: plasmon...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...

A lens made from transparent plastic material. Lenses over 31/2 in. in diameter are usually machined, ground and polished. Smaller lenses are usually injection molded, the mount surrounding the lens...

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate. Unlike traditional glass optical fibers, which are made...

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...

Any crystalline material whose length is much less than its measured diameter.

A semiconductor material used in photodetectors, sensitive in the infrared up to 5 µm.

A mixture of ionized gas and metal vapor generated by impingement of the laser beam onto a material being welded or a weld joint. The plume causes absorption and/or scattering of the incident laser...

A transparent lead-lanthanum zirconate titanate ceramic with optical qualities that can be controlled by applying voltages to thin plates of the material.

The transition boundary between P-type and N-type materials in a semiconductor.

In optics, the Pockels effect refers to the phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied electric field. This effect is utilized in Pockels cells, which are...

A Pockels cell, also known as an electro-optic modulator, is an optical device used to control the polarization of light by applying an electric field. It is named after the physicist Friedrich Carl...

A crystal diode whose rectifying activity is determined by the touching of the crystal to a finely pointed wire surrounded by a material of opposite type.

A device attached to the end of an alignment telescope that detects and calculates a plane mirror's rotation axis that is perpendicular to the line of sight. The device is adaptable for evaluation of...

A polariscope with a half-shade device and an angular scale generally attached to the analyzer. It is used to measure the rotation of the plane of polarization by materials placed within it. A...

A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization of materials placed between them. Useful for the determination of stress...

A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of excitations in a material, such as electronic excitations (electrons and...

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...

A coating made up of particular birefringent materials having polarizing properties. It may be used, in some cases, to replace Polaroid or polarizing prisms.

The process of aligning the crystallites in a piezoelectric material by placing a large DC field across the element at an elevated temperature. The alignment of crystallites results in an increased...

Any of the numerous powders used for grinding and polishing glass, crystal or metal, the chief material being emery and carborundum for grinding, and rouge or the oxides of tin, cerium or other...

A substance that transmits the infrared, but which is too delicate or fragile to be used in the form of a single crystal. Instead, the pure material is finely ground, pressed to the required shape,...

A material used to jacket fiber optic cables. It is chemical- and moisture-resistant, but not fire-resistant.

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded together to form long chains or networks, creating a macromolecular...

Process of synthesizing long molecular chain materials (polymers) by reaction of many small molecules (usually thousands) called monomers.

A crystalline material with a high electro-optic coefficient, capable of operating at short wavelengths, with applications in laser, optical disc, printing and microwave systems.

A transition boundary between two regions having different properties in a P-type semiconducting material.

An accurately produced hole of any size and shape that is used as a masking device in an optical system. Pinhole apertures of accurate diameters often are produced by laser beam penetration or by...

In a waveguide, the material in intimate contact with the cladding surface, applied to preserve the integrity of that surface.

Fluorescence produced as a result of the intrinsic property of the material itself or the doping of the material with trace elements.

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

Variations in a signal passing through an optical fiber caused by the effect on the pulse of the fiber's material and mode propagation characteristics.

A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate heat in a sample. A thermal imaging system detects differences in the rates...

A technique for depositing a material coating on metal, ceramic, semiconductor or polymer substrates. The interaction of laser energy with the target creates a plume of ablated material that is...

Radiation used to excite an optical or laser material to a higher energy level. See optical pumping.