Definitions

A system of beacons used in navigation.

A mirror used to manipulate the beam in a laser system.

A system of optical components designed to increase the diameter of a radiation beam. Usually an afocal system.

A device (e.g., prisms, lenses, tubes) used to align a beam in a system.

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It involves measuring and visualizing how the optical power or intensity is...

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

The angular width of a radiation beam. With respect to a conical beam of light, it is the vertex angle of the cone. The beamwidth is a measure of the rate of divergence or convergence of a light...

Degradation factor in coherent light systems where the amplitude of the recorded signal is decreased as the number of object points is increased, resulting in poor noise performance.

Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...

The application of observed operational processes of sophisticated living organisms to mechanical and electrical systems in order to analogize capabilities or efficiency.

The action of a biological system responding to a single or multiple coherent particles of light produced from a laser source. Examples of laser biostimulation include: retinal interaction of light...

The ratio of the number of bits received incorrectly to the total number of bits transmitted digitally in a system.

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...

An optical system that rapidly alternates two similar pictures or scenes to permit the detection of small dissimilarities between them.

A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...

A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...

The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1 are the energies of the states among which transition takes place, and h is...

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or gas mains. The long narrow tube used contains a telescope system with as...

The alignment process that makes the optical axes of two related systems parallel to each other. Also, making the optical axis parallel to a related weapon system axis.

A camera system for recording lightning.

One of the constants h, k, f or I, used to demonstrate any set of parallel planes in a crystal of the hexagonal system.

The degree to which a pixel in a digital image represents the analog brightness of the corresponding point in the original image. It is dependent largely on the number of bits devoted to representing...

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with acoustic phonons (quantized lattice vibrations) in a material, resulting in the...

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the hexagonal system of crystals. Its indices are e = 1.486, w = 1.658; its...

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems. These indicators are commonly used in various fields, including cell...

An optical wedge in which transmittance or density is a function of the location of the wedge, relative to a specific optical system.

An instrument used to measure the change of heat content of a system by measuring microwave power in terms of generated heat.

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

The term sometimes used to describe the sequential arrangement of components in a video system -- from transmitter to receiver.

Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and industrial imaging applications. It is an evolution of the original Camera Link...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

Of or pertaining to the methods of the French philosopher Rene Descartes. Refers to the standard orthogonal X-Y-Z coordinate system.

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

1. Mounting a lens or mirror so that its optical axis is coincident with the optical or mechanical axes of other portions of the system. 2. The machining (edging) of the outside diameter of a lens...

In the SI system, prefix meaning one hundredth, 10-2.

An isotope of cesium that emits negative beta particles and has a half-life of 2.19 years; its applications include photoelectric cells and developmental ion propulsion systems.

A cathode-ray tube that generates symbols for use in other displays. The tube operates by scanning specific characters on the target and generating them as video signals to other cathode-ray systems.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...