Photonics Dictionary: P

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather than sequentially scanning each source one after another. This approach is...

A standard source of high-charge-state ions for accelerators that has an external magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to the two cathode faces. Also called Philips ionization gauge.

A method of producing disks for erasable optical data storage. Information is recorded by a laser beam that generates pits on the surface of the disk while it is being cryogenically cooled. Erasure...

The effect that the optical losses in a medium can grow when the medium is irradiated with light at certain wavelengths.

The ionization that occurs in gas affected by the action of radiation quanta.

A type of computer in which the electronic circuits, which process data serially, are replaced by photonic circuits capable of parallel processing and thus of much greater speed and power. Where the...

A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather than from the edges. Photonic crystals are periodic nanostructures that...

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 engine refers to a device or system that utilizes photonics, or the science and technology of generating, controlling, and detecting photons (particles of light), to perform various...

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 photonic cavity, also known as an optical cavity, is a structure that confines electromagnetic radiation within a certain region or volume. It is typically composed of materials with different...

Photonics contract manufacturing refers to the outsourcing of the production of photonics-related components, devices, or systems to specialized manufacturing firms. Photonics involves the...

Noise created by patterns imaged on a CCD surface. Pixel sensitivity is altered by responsivity during illumination.

A photovoltaic cell usually sensitive to infrared radiation. It may have a copper base and a film of cuprous oxide. When it is irradiated, voltage is produced.

A kinescope used to survey the details of television video transmission.

A vacuum gauge designed to measure very high degrees of vacuum by thermal conduction.

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

Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology. It involves the combining or grouping of adjacent pixels on an image...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...

Geometrical partition possible with a sphere that can be four, six, eight, 12 or 20 solid-angle wedges. Each platonic mass is made up of a given number of regular polygonal faces and is classified...

Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or entity in a specific space or relative to a reference point. The term is used...

The dielectric coefficient parallel to the director in a liquid crystal display (LCD), rather than perpendicular to the director.

Basically, a hydrogen atom with two alterations, positronium is the lightest atom in the universe and has an extremely light positron in its nucleus that replaces hydrogen's proton so that its atomic...

Laws that predict the maximum power output as a function of tube diameter for a hydrogen cyanide laser of a given discharge length and cavity losses, all other parameters being optimized.

Technique using a fiber optic assembly to illuminate an opaque object and transmit an image back from it without a lens system on the distal end.

Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors, to capture images of the Earth's surface or other objects. In pushbroom...

Also known as electronic photometer. A photometer with a photocell, phototransistor or phototube for measuring the intensity of light.

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...

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 interlaced television scanning, an effect in which the lines of one field fail to fall exactly within the lines of the following field, both fields comprising one frame of the picture. The lines...

A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is mounted to rotate about a vertical axis. A slit opening in the film plane and the...

The image distortion produced by a panoramic camera with a swinging lens or a swinging mirror in front of a fixed lens. The magnification is greatest in the center and diminishes to each side in the...

A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a paraboloidal surface through which the axis does not pass, and is known as an...

A pair of waveguides with axes normal to the plane and that guide uniform cylindrical waves.

In a camera or cathode-ray tube, distortion that is designated by a lateral skewing of the reproduced image.

Characteristic of optical analyses that are limited to infinitesimally small apertures. Also called first-order or Gaussian optics.

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 whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is seeded with micron-sized particles. CCD or CMOS cameras and laser light sheets...

An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by the equation: where represents the wave number in the reciprocal centimeters,...

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...