Photonics Dictionary

A process for the production of optical fibers. A glass bait is rotated in a traversing flame of a reaction burner. Reactants passed through the flame react with oxygen at the high temperatures to...

The condition of the numerical aperture or beam diameter of the laser, LED, or other optical source being larger than the optical fiber core or other driven source. Also called overfilled launch...

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to crosstalk. 2. In the cross section of a fiber optic bundle, the ratio of fiber...

In a fiber optic guided missile, the point at which the optical fiber pays out from the bobbin on which it is wound.

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and functions on a single chip, similar to the way electronic integrated circuits...

The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and...

A short length of optical fiber permanently fixed to a component and used to couple power between it and the transmission fiber.

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals. The name "PIN" is derived from the arrangement of the three semiconductor...

Motion of a fiber into and out of the ferrule. This effect is often caused by changes in temperature.

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...

The use of a plasma to induce the formation of oxides in the production of graded-index optical fibers.

The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to glass-clad fibers to reduce microbend loss and increase mechanical protection.

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate. Unlike traditional glass optical fibers, which are made...

Capability requirement for optical switches for transmission lines to process arbitrarily polarized light because of the rapid changes in the polarization state of light propagating in the fibers.

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing disc.

A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.

A material used to jacket fiber optic cables. It is chemical- and moisture-resistant, but not fire-resistant.

Optical fiber channel characterization scheme based on three assumptions; the discrete mode spectrum can be replaced by a continuum; the loss due to coupling between guided and radiation modes...

A device that couples a light source to an optical fiber by projecting an image of the source and the fiber core onto a screen where they can be superimposed by micropositioners.

The minimum amount of strength characteristic of an optical fiber, as determined by proof stressing; expressed in thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch.

A means of testing the strength of optical fibers to ensure reliability, by applying stress to the fiber so that any flaws generated during manufacturing or handling result in breakage of the fiber.

A means of achieving higher peak powers and more efficient harmonic generation by narrowing the pulse width and thus increasing the frequency bandwidth of the output of CW mode-locked lasers....

Factor that relates the pulse spread occurring in a graded-index fiber to that of an equivalent step-index fiber having an identical refractive index difference between core and cladding (that is, an...

Variations in a signal passing through an optical fiber caused by the effect on the pulse of the fiber's material and mode propagation characteristics.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to establish a shared secret key between two parties, typically referred to as Alice...

Half the vertex angle of the cone of light emitted by a fiber.

A flexible fiber cable with a small diameter that transports light from the excitation laser to the target. Used in Raman spectroscopy, the probe is capable of obtaining high-quality data at high...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally introduced into the crystal lattice of a material to modify its properties....

The surface of an optical fiber that is used as a reference when joining optical fibers. Although the outermost cladding is usually used, the core cladding surface is also a common reference point.

Parametric measurement for elliptical fiber and cable expressed as a ratio of the two-directional flow of power through the cable at any chosen point.

The technique for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by scanning the entrance face with the vertex of a high numerical aperture cone and measuring the change in power of refracted...

A measure of the relative difference in refractive index between two optical materials. Most commonly used in fiber optics where the refractive index contrast, D, is given as follows: where n1 equals...

A sequential scanning device, utilizing a revolving lens, in which the cathode-ray tube image is transformed into a circle of fibers. The rotating lens focuses each fiber successively on a multiplier...

A cable that incorporates multiple fibers, jacketed side by side in a ribbonlike form.

A circular lamp or bundles of optical fibers placed around the perimeter of an objective lens to illuminate the object field below it.

A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber in which a portion of the edge has broken away; the complement of lip.

A type of interferometer in which two coils of optical fiber are arranged so that light from a single source travels clockwise in one, and counterclockwise in the other. Rotation of the coils causes...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

Measure of the interference fringe pattern produced by the forward scattering of light by an optical fiber; the fringe pattern is inversely proportional to the fiber diameter.

A nonlinear label-free imaging technique commonly used during surgical procedures for the visualization of collagen fibers and muscle tissue (myosin) with submillimeter resolution. During the...

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine within a nonlinear material, resulting in the generation of a new photon...