Photonics Dictionary

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...

Also known as electronic photometer. A photometer with a photocell, phototransistor or phototube for measuring the intensity of light.

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 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture detailed information about the shape, contour, or profile of an object in two...

The transfer of energy from an incident electromagnetic energy field with wavelength or frequency to an atomic or molecular medium.

A group of frequencies or wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum which exhibits resonance or energy contributions near and in relation to a peak resonance wavelength.

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular wavelength or energy level. It is a distinctive feature in the absorption...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

Impurity in a semiconductor or any other electroluminescent device capable of inducing hole conduction and accepting a valence band electron to produce an acceptor energy level.

The present radiation level within a laser or electromagnetic radiation operating area.

Electromagnetic radiation present upon the open aperture of the source within an operating environment.

That point in the electromagnetic spectrum at which an optical system focuses the most chemically effective rays.

Electromagnetic energy that is capable of producing photochemical activity.

Component that is externally controlled via electronic or photon signal.

The transport of molecules in a cell which requires the use of a cell's internal energy. The energy used in the cell may be ATP as a primary transport or an electrochemical gradient give as the...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the on-current at each OLED cell or...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the on-current at each OLED cell or...

Mechanical device intended for the translation (rotational and linear) using high precision control from electronically operated circuits. See linear actuator; rotary actuator.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional objects by adding material layer by layer. This is in contrast to...

The use of optical or electronic recording systems to extract information from the terrain, while aloft, for reconnaissance applications.

The creation of a planned sequence of data input that is obtained while airborne for use in aerial photogrammetry and other types of map making and surveying. The data can be photographic, electronic...

The luminosity that remains in a rarefied gas after an electrodeless discharge has traversed the gas.

A device that enlarges and strengthens a signal's output without significantly distorting its original waveshape. There are amplifiers for acoustical, optical and electronic signals.

An angstrom, symbolized by the Ångström or Å, is a unit of length used to express atomic and molecular dimensions. It is equal to 0.1 nanometers or 1 × 10-10 meters. The...

Gamma ray radiation released when matter and antimatter, such as electron and positron, unite and eliminate each other, transforming completely into energy. The resulting gamma ray spectrum depends...

The part of an electrical circuit in which the electrons leave (a cathode-ray tube) or enter (an electrolytic cell) a unit in the circuit.

A device that prevents electrons from a saturated pixel in a CCD imaging device from spilling into an adjacent pixel. The antiblooming gate drains a pixel of any charge in excess of its full-well...

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by converting incoming photons into electrical current. It operates based on the...

A loss of resolution or detail in a television signal caused by the size of the electron scanning beam.

Also known as a shadow mask, a perforated plate placed between the focusing and accelerating electrodes, and the tricolor phosphor screen in a color-television tube.

The electric arc that is a particular discharge between two electrodes in a gas or vapor which is characterized by high cathode densities and a low voltage drop.

In present usage, especially for spectroscopic identification, an arc between electrodes that serves as a radiation source. Gas tubes that contain mercury vapor and mixtures of helium, neon and argon...

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a single snapshot or exposure. Unlike line scan, which captures images one line at...

gas laser using ionized argon as the active medium and applying electronic excitation in order to produce the laser light

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

An atomic clock is a highly precise timekeeping device that uses the vibrations or oscillations of atoms as a reference for measuring time. The most common type of atomic clock uses the vibrations of...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials science, and biology. It is a type of scanning probe microscope that...

The efficiency of scattering by an atom in a particular direction, expressed as: where AA is the amplitude of the wave from the atom and AE is the amplitude of the wave from a free electron.

Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it propagates through a medium or travels over a distance. This concept is prevalent...

An electronic transducer, either fixed or adjustable, that reduces the amplitude of a wave without causing significant distortion. See also beam attenuator.

Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of attoseconds (1 attosecond = 10-18 seconds). These ultrafast light pulses are in...