Photonics Dictionary

The number of separate images exposed by a cine camera in a second or the number illuminated by a cine projector in a second. By varying the number of images recorded per second, films can be created...

In digital data transmission, the separation of the two binary states into output at two frequencies.

A type of birefringent polarizing prism that transmits the extraordinary ray and removes the ordinary ray through total internal reflection. It consists of two calcite prisms with an air gap...

A framework or latticework having an even arrangement of rods, or any other long narrow objects with interstices between them, used to disperse light or other radiation by interference between wave...

A wave in which energy is focused near a boundary separating materials having different properties. Propagation of the wave is in a direction parallel to the boundary.

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists of a periodic structure of alternating transparent and opaque regions,...

An ocular having two planoconvex lenses that are formed from similar glass and that are separated by a space equal to half the sum of their focal lengths. This eyepiece is free of lateral chromatic...

Hydrophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or do not readily interact with water. The word hydrophobic comes from the Greek words "hydro," meaning water, and "phobos,"...

Hyperchromic shift refers to an increase in the absorption of light, leading to a higher absorbance, often observed in certain chemical or biological substances upon undergoing a structural change....

A television camera tube that preceded the development of the vidicon tube and incorporated a method to separate reflected and scattered portions of the return beam so that only the scattered...

Multiple, interconnected circuit elements, contained on or in a common substrate, that function as a unit and not separately.

Describing the standard television method of raster scanning in which the image is the product of two fields, each of which is a series of successively scanned lines separated by the equivalent of...

The separation between the exit pupils of a binocular instrument. This usually is adjustable so that it can be set equal to the observer's interocular distance, a normal range being from 55 to 75 mm.

That portion of physics concerned with motion in the abstract, such as of points or space figures, and separated from its dynamic properties.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

A moving group of fluid-suspended biological species directed through separate channels by which the population is isolated. The isolated or purified group is observed by applying a laser detection...

A process of isolation of various atom vapor ions by means of tuning a laser source. For example, laser enrichment is applied to isolate uranium; enrichment is utilized in chemical vapor applications...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

With respect to the crystal, the decrease in energy that follows the process whereby the ions, separated from each other by an infinite distance, are brought to their locations in the stable lattice....

A type of stereoscopic photography in which a pair of lenses focuses a pair of images, relative to the positions of the two eyes, onto film through a lenticular screen, which records the images as an...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

The angle subtended by two points or lines that are just far enough apart to be distinguished as separate. The ability of an optical device to resolve two points or lines is called resolving power...

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals. Unlike area image sensors (such as CCD or CMOS sensors), which capture an...

A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or attenuating shorter wavelengths. These filters are designed to transmit light with a...

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...

An interferometer constructed to be positioned on a telescope to measure the angular separation of the components of double stars.

Output noise in a laser beam resulting from acoustic disturbances of mirror separation or orientation. Such disturbances may come either from the plasma or from vibration of external sources.

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microscopes are instruments that magnify and...

A homogeneous solid solution with crystal lattice sites occupied, at random, by the molecules or ions of two or more separate compounds

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-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds, femtoseconds, or even attoseconds. This method synchronizes the phases of...

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...

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...

A group of four cameras loaded with different combinations of filters and film (one is usually an infrared color film) to permit the recording of the same subject in four separate regions of the...

A hologram formed by reconstruction of multicolor wavefronts. The system used to produce the hologram is designed to combine the different colored wavefronts of the separate illuminating sources, and...

A fiber optic bundle split along its length with the ends of the fibers extending separately to illuminate different points with a single light source.

A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems that rely on the spot size of a laser beam that has propagated along an...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a high-resolution, high-throughput process that involves the mechanical...

The measurement of first- and higher order properties of a lens and its formed image, including effective focal length, back focal length, f number, aberrations, blur patterns, magnification and...

An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines multiple optical signals or images into a single output. The purpose of an...

Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced, parallel slits or rulings. These slits or rulings act as obstacles to the...

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue, typically neurons, which have been genetically modified to respond to light....

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to produce light. OLEDs are commonly used in display technologies, such as...