Photonics Dictionary

A method used in facsimile scanning that sweeps the elemental area across the copy in a spiral motion as the result of the movement of a single turn helix against a stationary bar.

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...

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....

An eyepiece similar to the Huygenian eyepiece, but having an eye lens that is a cemented doublet and that provides more lateral color correction.

Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike traditional imaging systems that record only a few...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...

Hyperspectral resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in the spectral information captured by a hyperspectral imaging system. In hyperspectral imaging, the electromagnetic spectrum is...

A method used in imaging to detect subtle differences between two apparently similar pictures. It can be achieved by superimposing the negative of one photograph over a contact print of another, by...

A camera tube similar in design to the iconoscope. However, the image formed in the image iconoscope is projected on a photocathode that emits photoelectrons to be focused on a material, forming the...

The science of producing, recording, storing, transmitting and displaying visual images by any system (photographic, video, facsimile, etc.) in any form.

That state determining that two waves of like frequency will travel through their maximum and minimum values of the same polarity simultaneously.

Inductance is a fundamental property of an electrical circuit or component that describes its ability to store energy in a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it. It is typically...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to release energy. In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...

An instrument, similar in design to regular binoculars, that can transmit and enlarge infrared images.

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is...

An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current passes through it. Similar to standard LEDs that emit visible light, IR LEDs are...

A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to or following its excitation by visible radiant energy.

Instantaneous field of view (iFOV) is a term commonly used in the context of remote sensing, imaging systems, and optical instruments. It refers to the specific portion of a scene that an optical...

Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The...

A set of international standards by which a single telecommunications channel is used to transmit voice and data simultaneously.

An image that is similar to the object but rotated 180° about the axis of the system.

1. In relation to cathode-ray tube displays, errors in the signal's amplitude, phase or both that result in small, rapid aberrations in size or position of the image. 2. Errors of synchronization...

A device consisting of two optical systems in which two signals are simultaneously transformed to produce their spectra, and these spectra are multiplied and inversely transformed to produce the...

Characteristic of radiation detectors that produce energy that is similar to the energy of superconductive gaps when interacting with photons.

A simple form of astronomical telescope that uses a fixed objective and a focusable eyepiece. The objective forms an intermediate image in the instrument, resulting in an image that appears upside...

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...

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or identify specific components or entities. In various scientific and...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the body, particularly in the urinary and biliary systems. The term "lithotripsy"...

The device, usually made of glass or a similar material, that contains the resonant cavity and optics of a gas laser.

A system that uses the heat from a pulsed laser to weld metals. Because of the rapidity and localization in which the welding takes place, metals of vastly dissimilar melting points can be welded...

A contact tip made of artificial sapphire (AlO2) that allows surgeons to use laser power to cut and coagulate tissue simultaneously.

A length that denotes the size of the unit cell in a crystal lattice. With respect to the cubic crystal, this is the length of the side of the unit cell. However, a simple definition of the term is...

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and reconstructs microscopic images without the use of traditional lenses. Instead of...

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...

Similar to LASCR, except that all four regions are available.

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the entire image simultaneously. This technique is commonly used in various...

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to capture images one line or row of pixels at a time, rather than a full...

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...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of optical elements is proportional to the amplitude of the incident light wave....

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In a liquid crystal, the molecules are ordered like those in a...

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based semiconductor technology to create high-resolution, high-quality images. LCoS...

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as an electron) to an oscillating electric field. It is particularly employed...

Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in temperature. In other words, it is the production and emission of light by a...

Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to improve their performance on a specific...

The decrease in the energy of a photoelectric emission as a result of the simultaneous incidence of radiation having lower frequency than that forming the emission.

High-voltage, fast-discharge circuit named after its inventor, Erwin Marx. Its capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series. The voltage multiplication achieved with a Marx circuit is...