Photonics Dictionary

The change in the refractive index of a material under the influence of an electrical field.

A material having refractive indices that can be altered by an applied electric field.

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

A transistor designed to respond to either light or electrical signals.

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by changing the refractive index of a light-propagating material; 2....

The study of the reversible conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. Electroplating is an electrochemical process.

An electrochemical process of metal fabrication using an electrolyte, an anode to supply the metal, and a control of the electrical current and of the deposit of metal on the matrix of a reflector.

A technology that uses electrically activated holograms stored within specially developed crystals to route information in the form of lightwave signals from one optical fiber to another within and...

The nonthermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance. The photon emission resulting from electron-hole recombination in a PN junction is one example. This is the...

The utilization of the light produced when electrical energy is directly converted into light within devices used for visual readout displays or as complex logic-circuit elements. With EL lighting,...

A panel of photoconductive and electroluminescent layers used as either a positive or negative image intensifier, depending on amplitude and phase of its two power supply voltages. The...

Conduction of an electric current through a chemical compound in its natural state, solution or as a molten, to decompose the compound.

Developing a photographic image by means of an applied electric field. The methods used include electrolysis and photoconductive systems.

A high-speed shutter, similar to a Kerr cell, that uses the birefringence produced in a liquid during the passage of an electric current through it to change the liquid's optical transmission...

An electron lens consisting of a homogeneous axial electric field and a magnetic field used in high-quality image tubes for high modulation transfer function and small geometrical distortion...

Radiation emitted from vibrating charged particles. A combination of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that propagates through otherwise empty space with the velocity of light. This constant...

The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.

Wave of radiation identified by individual fluctuations of electric and magnetic fields.

An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a crystal lattice. Specifically, it refers to a collective excitation of spins and...

A type of modulation spectroscopy that measures spectral reflectance or transmittance changes induced by applying a perturbing electric field. It can be performed in contactless modes with no special...

An electrostatic device that uses an electric potential barrier to allow the transmittance of electrons at or above a set level of energy while stopping the passage of those below it.

An electric field produced to influence an electron stream much in the same manner that a lens affects a light beam.

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

The control of free electron movement through the use of electrical or magnetic fields, and use of this electron movement in research investigation of electronic diffraction phenomena, directly...

The method by which photographic film is scanned by an electron beam. One technique uses the uniform light of a television screen, focused by a lens onto the processed film, as a means of creating a...

An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find applications in various fields, including cathode ray tubes (CRTs), electron...

The use of an electric field or signal to couple a lightwave from one dielectric waveguide into another dielectric waveguide.

That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of electrical energy flowing through gases, vacuums, semiconductors and conductors, not...

The movement of particles or ions in a solution toward the electrode having the opposite sign because of the application of an electrical field.

An electrophoretic display, often referred to as an electronic paper display or e-paper display, is a type of electronic visual display technology used in electronic devices for the purpose of...

The photographic recording of an image formed by the alteration in electrical properties of the sensitive materials and induced by the action of light.

A technique that uses the passage of an electrical current through a recording medium to produce a permanent image on that medium.

The effect produced by electrical charges or fields alone, without interaction with magnetic influence.

The use of an applied electrical field to focus a cathode-ray tube's electron beam.

A nonmagnetic instrument utilizing an electrofocus and deflection tube with a photocathode for imaging purposes. The optical image is converted into a photoelectric output at the photocathode and is...

The electrical distribution that serves to influence an electron beam in the same way that an optical lens affects a light beam.

Information storage on a dielectric medium that represents the data as those spots on the medium having electrostatic charges, forming an observable record of the data.

Elastic deformation of a dielectric caused by volume force when the dielectric is placed in an inhomogeneous electric field.

An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to control the behavior of colored oil droplets on a hydrophobic surface....

A light beam whose electric vectors are broken into two elements of unlike amplitudes that are perpendicular to each other and that differ in phase by values other than 1, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, etc.,...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or machines. Computer vision involves teaching machines to interpret and understand...

Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the crystal lattice of the growing layer is related to that of the substrate. In...

Coating carried out in a sealed chamber evacuated by a mechanical pump in series with an oil diffusion pump to a pressure less than 10-4 mm of mercury, measured by a vacuum gauge. At such a low...

An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term excimer is derived from excited dimer, reflecting the nature of the gain medium...

A small incandescent lamp whose intense beam is focused on the optical soundtrack of a motion picture film. The soundtrack modulates the beam, which in turn is detected by a photocell that produces...

The light spectrum formed by an explosive reaction or by the electrical explosion of a metallic wire by a strong current.

A device used to transmit and receive images that have been converted to electrical signals over regular telephone lines; it includes a scanner, a transmitter, a receiver and a printer.