Photonics Dictionary

Also referred to as a band-stop or band rejection filter; a notch filter is a filter that is designed to screen out a very narrow band of radiation by transmitting most wavelengths with little...

A term describing a substance that is impervious to light; the characteristic of a substance that has no luminous transmittance.

The capacity of a chiral substance such as a crystal or molecule to rotate the plane of polarized light that is transmitted through it. Any substance that cannot be superimposed onto it's mirror...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are...

An instrument used to measure backscatter as well as optical return loss and reflectance within an optical fiber system by measuring the reflected light when a continuous wave is transmitted through...

A measure of the transmittance through an optical medium. Optical density equals the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of the transmittance. where τλ is transmittance. In spectroscopy,...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical filters are used to control the spectral content of light in various...

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...

Laser-powered telephone device for analog communications that employs a vibrating plastic membrane as a transmitter to modulate laser light piped via optical fibers from a central exchange, omitting...

A multilayered thin-film device used to modulate transmitted light in integrated photonic circuits.

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using various techniques to selectively switch or redirect optical paths. This...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

A method for characterizing a fiber wherein an optical pulse is transmitted through the fiber, and the resulting light scattered and reflected to the input is measured (by an optical time-domain...

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...

An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists, primary care physicians, and pediatricians, to examine the ear canal and...

Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless specimens, making it possible to visualize fine details and internal structures...

An input device for a computer that detects and reads the data, in the form of punched holes in cards, by light that is transmitted through the holes.

The coupling of two circuits by the use of a light pipe through which photons are transmitted.

A photonic engine refers to a device or system that utilizes photonics, or the science and technology of generating, controlling, and detecting photons (particles of light), to perform various...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and functions on a single chip, similar to the way electronic integrated circuits...

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique used to detect changes in blood volume in tissues. It measures variations in light absorption caused by the pulsatile nature of blood...

A document-transmitting process that uses a cylinder that rotates the document to be scanned and detected by a photoelectric cell. The cell transforms the light into electrical energy that may be...

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...

The property exhibited by certain birefringent crystals in which the degree with which they transmit polarized light is different, depending on whether the ray is ordinary or extraordinary. An...

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...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical phase information of transparent specimens. Unlike traditional brightfield...

A lamp with a quartz envelope that transmits radiation generally rich in the ultraviolet.

When light is transmitted through matter, part of the light is scattered in random directions. A small part of the scattered light has frequencies removed from the frequency of the incident beam by...

A device that is used to determine the index of refraction of a gas or liquid through the interference patterns formed by two beams of light, one of which has been transmitted by the sample. A single...

A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) is a key component in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optical communication networks. It allows for flexible and dynamic routing of...

A prism having several plane polished surfaces, some to transmit light, some to reflect light, and some to serve both functions in succession. It acts generally as a group of plane mirrors held in a...

A type of 45-90-45° prism used to bend a beam of light through a right angle with the surfaces forming the 90° angle acting as transmitting faces.

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the direction of a laser beam or other optical beam by independently rotating two...

A Rugate filter is a type of optical filter that is designed to have a continuously varying refractive index profile throughout its thickness, rather than the discrete layers found in traditional...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

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...

A double-plate device used to transmit polarized light and form interference fringes of the light, thus indicating its presence. It consists of two calcite plates of equal thickness, cut parallel to...

1. A polariscope consisting of a Savart plate and a tourmaline plate analyzer, and used to produce parallel color fringes by transmitting polarized light. 2. A polariscope composed of an analyzing...

An optically bistable device used for photonic switching, constructed of a multiple quantum well biased by an external voltage, which creates an external field that shifts the wavelength of the onset...