Photonics Dictionary

An electron tube containing neon gas that uses the transmission of an electric current through the gas to ionize the neon and produce a luminous red discharge.

A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater based on the Nernst effect. It was invented by the German physicist and...

A device consisting of a disc with a spiral arrangement of holes that is used to convert visible patterns into electrical patterns. Light is reflected from the subject and focused through a vertical...

Radiation that does not produce free electrons and ions, or electrically charged particles.

An optical crystal that possesses a strong nonlinear dielectric response function to optical radiation. A material with a strong second-order nonlinearity must not possess a center of symmetry. See...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the intensity of incident light. In other words, these materials produce optical...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation of the electrical field of the target beam. This technique is also referred...

Nonlinear polarization refers to the phenomenon where the polarization of a material responds nonlinearly to an applied electric field. In linear systems, the polarization of a material is directly...

A chemical detection technique used to measure molecules that have a magnetic dipole moment. The analysis is directed to nucleuses which have a quadrupole moment which leads to an asymmetric electric...

The electrical resistance between two points of a conductor when a constant difference of potential of one volt, applied between these points, produces in this conductor a current of one ampere, the...

An interface in an optical network that permits an optical signal to pass without changing the optical signal to an electrical signal and therefore does not limit the signal to a specific protocol.

An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and interpret data encoded in barcode symbols. Barcodes are typically printed on...

A mechanical or electrical-electromagnetic device for periodically interrupting or blocking abeam of light for a brief known interval. The three most common chopper types include the tuning fork...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...

Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals from one input fiber to one or more output fibers. They play a crucial role...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through or be blocked in a manner analogous to an electronic gate controlling the...

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

The phenomenon that makes nonlinear the mathematical expression for the electrical polarization of a medium through which lightwaves are passing. Characterizes high-power lasers principally;...

In an optical fiber or waveguide communications system, an optoelectronic device or module that receives an optical signal, converts this optical signal to an electrical signal which is then...

Optical strain sensors are devices that utilize optical principles to measure the deformation or strain experienced by a material under mechanical stress. These sensors convert changes in strain into...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using various techniques to selectively switch or redirect optical paths. This...

The element that resembles a lightweight metal, but when very pure, has a very high electrical resistance and is transparent to the infrared between about 0.5 and 15 µm.

Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation for its internal operation. Any device that functions as an...

A transistor that uses an electro-luminescent source, a transparent base and a photoelectric collector.

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

An optogenetic technique that embeds genetically-engineered proteins to the heart to aid in terminating arrhythmias. After the proteins are embedded in the heart, it can be defibrillated by pulses of...

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to produce light. OLEDs are commonly used in display technologies, such as...

A television camera tube in which a low-velocity electron beam scans a photoactive mosaic that has been created by an optical image. Once scanned by the electron beam, the electrical storage capacity...

An instrument used to record rapidly varying currents or voltages. An oscillograph may consist of a cathode-ray tube oscilloscope with a camera attachment, or a mirror galvanometer with a lamp and...

The graphic recording of physical changes vs. time, in electrical quantities, using an oscilloscope.

A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible trace on the phosphor screen of the tube and providing for examination of...

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well as in other light-sensitive tissues. These proteins play a crucial role in...

A device that uses a photoelectric cell to determine the level of oxygenation in the blood.

The finite amount of electrical charge generated in response to incident radiation and transferred from one storage element to the next in a charge-coupled device. Each packet corresponds to a pixel...

Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy and increase their velocity. This acceleration can occur in various natural...

A passive optical network (PON) is a telecommunications network architecture that uses optical fibers and passive optical components to provide high-speed broadband services to end-users. In a PON...

An OLED display formed by creating an array of OLED pixels connected by intersecting anode and cathode conductors arranged in rows and columns. Electrical power is passed through selected pixels by...

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a cubic arrangement of oxygen ions, forming a framework within which other...

The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols, semiconductor crystals and plasmas, to replicate a laser beam by reversing...