Abbreviations/Acronyms

metal-dielectric multilayer (MDM) — Periodic nanofilm structures for optical mode confinement and tunneling of resonant surface plasmons.

many-element laser; maximum excess loss (MEL) — the many element laser is a laser unit that consists of N like elements of active materials for support with the mode selection of the laser output. The mode selection properties of a many element laser have been experimentally exploited with as many as 10 like elements. Maximum excess loss is the maximum power lost within a give system (typically a fiber optic communication system) including scattering, dispersion, absorption and coupling loss.

millifarad — A unit of capacitance that is equivalent to one thousandth (10-3) of the standard unit for capacitance which is the farad.

machine intelligence

Also referred to as military standard (MIL-STD),  a military specification is a defense specification or standard utilized by the United States and established by the U.S. department of defense to achieve standardization and regulation of defense related products and objectives.

molecular infrared track

man-machine interface

mobile optical tracking unit

megavolt; machine vision

Machine Vision Association (of SME)

Mach-Zehnder

refractive index

National Association of Photographic Manufacturers

National Academy of Science

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Space Development Agency (Japan)

National Electrical Manufacturers' Association

opacity

optical Chinese character recognition

optical character recognition; optical character reader

optical character verification

original equipment manufacturer

open-face detector

online character recognition

optical network interface

open optical interface

optical access line

optical tracking

photoacoustic imaging

pulse address multiple access

photosynthetically active radiation

photoacoustic spectroscopy

pointing, acquisition and tracking

polychromatic acousto-optic modulator

photoconductive relay; polymerase chain reaction

photodiode array; postdeflection acceleration

polymethyl methacrylate

phase-modulating receptacle

photorefractive crystal

photorefractive keratectomy

quality factor (laser resonator)

quantitative polymerase chain reaction system

random access integration

random access memory

remote active spectrometer

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

reaction chamber; resistance × capacitance

radar data acquisition

rangefinder; radio frequency; representative fraction

reflection high-energy electron diffraction