Photonics Dictionary: P

Motion of a fiber into and out of the ferrule. This effect is often caused by changes in temperature.

Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology. It involves the combining or grouping of adjacent pixels on an image...

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 camera system used for microphotography in which the document to be recorded is on a flat bed, perpendicular to the lens axis. The camera head is located above the copyboard on a column and may be...

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...

A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged particles, typically electrons or ions, by exploiting the motion of charged...

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,...

The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to glass-clad fibers to reduce microbend loss and increase mechanical protection.

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...

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

Pluggable optics, also known as pluggable transceivers or optical transceivers, are modular devices used in optical communication systems to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. They are...

Discharge that results when a doped semiconductor crystal with a PN junction is charged with a low-voltage direct current. The dual process depends on excitation caused by electrical energy...

A device used to detect radiant energy by means of the thermal expansion of gas.

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 reference sphere used to represent all possible states of polarization. All linear polarizations will lie on the equator and circular polarizations will correspond with the poles. Named for the...

A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific location in space. These points are typically obtained through various sensing...

An established point on which the observer's eye is focused.

A device used in solar systems to direct mirror-reflected sunlight to a heat absorber and heat-driven engine, which turns a generator to produce electricity.

A Huygenian eyepiece containing a pointer at its focal plane that is used -- when viewing an object through the eyepiece -- for specific designation.

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...

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.

A device that is used to produce or analyze plane-polarized light. It may be a Nicol prism or some other form of calcite prism or a polarizing filter.

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...

In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing disc.

A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.

A tough, durable, heat- and cold-resistant optical quality plastic used in injection-molded items such as streetlight lenses, automotive taillights and audio compact discs.

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.

A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various laser systems, optical scanners, and imaging devices. It consists of a flat or...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through a series of temperature-controlled cycles....

A plastic used in molded optical components. Styrene elements can be combined with acrylic elements to produce achromatic lenses.

An optical-quality polymer used in birefringent retarders.

A 45-90-45° reflecting prism whose surfaces form the 90° angle reflecting the light beam through a total angle of 180°. The corners of the prism are rounded to minimize breakage and simplify...

Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or entity in a specific space or relative to a reference point. The term is used...