Photonics Dictionary

The instrument used to analyze a pulsed electromagnetic wave to determine its time, amplitude, duration and shape, and to display this information in some appropriate form, either visually or...

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...

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of photonics or electronics, converts incoming photons (light) into a useful output...

Total number of characters available to each position of a digital numeric system.

Raster scanning is a technique used in imaging and scanning systems to systematically capture and process information from a two-dimensional area or surface. It involves moving a sensor or scanning...

RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is widely used in various electronic displays, such as computer monitors,...

A repeater that is designed for digital transmission. Also called a regenerator.

A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical instrument, such as a microscope, telescope, riflescope, or camera, to...

A digital imaging method whereby the first gray level in the ordered sequence and the position of the first lengths of all runs are specified; used when there are only two possible gray levels...

A digital imaging method whereby the first gray level of each sequential point-by-point sample and its position in the succession of gray levels is encoded. It is used when there is a tendency for...

A scientific CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera is a type of digital camera specifically designed for scientific imaging applications. It employs CMOS sensor technology, which...

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that belongs to the powder bed fusion category. SLM is primarily used for metal additive manufacturing, where...

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light in two dimensions, typically in the form of an array. SLMs are...

Spatial resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in an image or a spatial dataset. It is a measure of the smallest discernible or resolvable features in the spatial domain, typically...

Potential alternative to the conventional pulse approximation method of digital image processing because of its highly desirable interpolating and approximating characteristics.

A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and differentiation of the data by simplified least squared procedures.

A device that changes the number of lines per frame of a video image to adapt to a lower resolution format, either by deleting lines, compressing lines or by imaging only a part of the original...

A disc whose surface contains recorded digital data at high-packing densities arranged in concentric rings. The data, representing video frames, are both recorded and read by a laser beam.

Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of video cameras, lighting equipment, and audio recording devices to create...

Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological images and structures without the need for traditional physical slides and...

A feature of some imaging devices, such as digital cameras, that allows them to compensate for different lighting conditions by adjusting the color balance based on the difference between a white...

In digital image processing, a unit equal to 16 bits.