Photonics Dictionary: K

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

A mount for an optic element or optics assembly, designed so that all six degrees of freedom are singly constrained. This assures that movement will be prevented, while stress will not be introduced...

That portion of physics concerned with motion in the abstract, such as of points or space figures, and separated from its dynamic properties.

An atmospheric nonlinear process unique to CO2 laser wavelengths, whereby CO2 absorbs 10.6-µm radiation and the CO2 molecules in the (100) vibrational state are excited to the (001) level, and...

A thermionic tube that has a velocity-modulated electron stream and that may be used as a microwave amplifier or oscillator.

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the instrument is an automated microtome and microscope capable of producing...

A measurement of the hardness of a material as determined by the penetration depth of a diamond stylus under a specified amount of pressure.

Pennwalt's trade name for polyvinylidene fluoride, a material used in the jacket of fiber optic cables where low smoke emission is deemed more important than flexibility.