Photonics Dictionary: E

The use of a tightly focused beam of electrons to drill minute holes in substances. The drilling is accomplished by the evaporation of the material in the desired circumference by the intense heat of...

A method that uses electronic means to move the scanning spot along the scanning line.

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

The line or lines emitted by an element when its radiation particles travel from one energy level to another.

End-fire coupling refers to a method of coupling energy into or out of a waveguide, transmission line, or antenna, where the electromagnetic waves are directed primarily along the axis or direction...

The line from a spark or other very hot source that has greater intensity than that of a line produced by an arc or flame source. Also called an enhanced line.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific substances, such as antibodies, antigens, proteins, hormones, or other...

A diffraction grating with lines and grooves formed so as to concentrate the radiation of a particular wavelength into one specified order. This device is efficient when used in the infrared region...

An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the semiconductor chip rather than from the surface. Edge-emitting LEDs are...

A shift in the direction of the red in the spectral lines of light which, defined by the relativity theory, will have decreased frequencies upon emerging from a highly gravitational field.

A refracting telescope that uses a prism to bend the line of sight 90°.

The use of a krypton laser system for the measurement of small molecules aligned by an electric field, by analyzing the absorption of linearly polarized light.

An electro-optic deflector is a device that can change the direction of light beams using an electric field. It operates based on the electro-optic effect, which involves the modulation of the...

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...

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 special evacuated camera equipped with means for holding a specimen and bombarding it with a sharply focused beam of electrons. A cylindrical film is placed around the specimen to record the...

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...

An electron-beam tube with power-handling capability that is essentially based on controlled electron beams. Its control and screen grids are basically in alignment.

1. A device generally used in a cathode-ray or camera tube to emit a stream of electrons moving at uniform velocity in a straight line. It consists of an emitting cathode and an anode, with an...

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

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 bands of spectral lines representing the electronic transition in a molecule.

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...

An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light emitted by a source, such as an atom, molecule, or celestial object. It shows...

The occurrence of very large rotations in transparent materials at weak magnetic fields as predicted in the classical dispersion theory. This effect was discovered by Mavaluso and Corbino in 1898 in...

In a lens or other optical system, the image of the aperture stop as seen from object space.

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and monochromators. It is a narrow opening or aperture through which light...

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...

Epitaxial deposition is a process used in semiconductor manufacturing and materials science to grow a thin crystalline layer, known as an epitaxial layer, on a substrate. The term epitaxial refers to...

Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of crystalline layers on a substrate material. Epitaxial growth is a critical...

A telescope stand equipped with a polar axis that can be set parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation and a declination axis that is at right angles to the polar axis. If the telescope is turned at a...

1. A contour map of a photographic deposit consisting of lines and curves that join points of equal density. 2. The portrayal of a photograph's points of equal density in hues of yellow, cyan and...

1. The use of an electronic microdensitometer to measure points of equal density on a photographic deposit. 2. A technique that simplifies a picture's density pattern by making a single isodensity...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...

An acid used to etch the surfaces of particular materials. For glass, hydrofluoric acid is used either as a liquid or a vapor. Metals are etched by means of suitable acids or other liquids, often to...

An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to capture visual information in a highly efficient and unique way compared to...

The ratio of the intensities of two specified spectral lines of a source having vastly different excitation energies. This ratio indicates the level of excitation energy in the source.

The amount of energy required to raise the energy level of an atom; a necessity if the atom is to radiate energy. High excitation potential is the amount of energy in the upper state of the...

On the CIE chromaticity diagram, the distance from the achromatic point to the sample point, divided by the distance from the achromatic point through the sample point to the spectrum locus or purple...

In a lens or other optical system, the image of the aperture stop as seen from image space.

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to observe and photograph the retina; the retinoscope and optometer to determine...