Photonics Dictionary: O

A hemispherical covering that is rotatable about a central axis. There is a slit opening along one side wide enough to allow a telescope to be directed at any vertical angle up to 90°.

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly in applications requiring precise focusing, collimation, or imaging of...

An instrument for measuring opacity.

Also referred to as the opposition surge, the opposition effect is a photometric phenomenon in which a rough retroreflective surface appears brighter when illuminated from directly behind the...

Optical artifacts refer to undesired or unintended effects that can occur in optical systems, such as microscopes, cameras, telescopes, and other optical instruments. These artifacts can distort or...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a specific function within an optical system. These components may include lenses,...

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...

Directing an optical beam in varying directions by varying reflection, refraction, focusing and diffraction methods.

A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...

A term referring to an optical force field used to trap and stabilize particles acted upon by a force such as laser light.

A device for measuring linear dimensions. The optical caliper generally consists of two circularly mounted mirrors whose angular positions are monitored by an autocollimator, and that are capable of...

Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical systems. These materials are designed to provide secure and durable bonds...

An optical channel monitor (OCM) is a device used in optical communication systems to monitor and analyze the performance of individual channels within a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)...

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 coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. It provides...

An instrument used to measure backscatter as well as optical return loss and reflectance within an optical fiber system by measuring the reflected light when a continuous wave is transmitted through...

Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and components to meet specific performance requirements and application needs....

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to simulate, model, analyze, and optimize the performance of optical systems and...

An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical filters are used to control the spectral content of light in various...

The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial domain representation of an image into its corresponding frequency domain...

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 glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...

A device for measuring diffraction grating efficiency at any angle of incidence, consisting of a reflectometer wherein the detector rotates around the grating at a specific distance and is attached...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....

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...

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...

An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives off and comparing it to the known temperature and wavelength spectrum of...

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...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics laboratories for mounting and aligning optical components. These tables provide a...

An instrument used for video or computer data storage in which a laser optical head is used to write digital information onto a tape. Depending on the size of the reel, the tape may be capable of...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of the forward-scattering amplitude. It is used in the study of division of...

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize and analyze the optical fibers' characteristics, including attenuation,...

A technique for detecting and measuring atmospheric pollution, in which an oscillating mirror directs half the incoming light to a transducer that controls amplitude and frequency, and the resulting...

Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic objects, such as particles or biological cells, in three dimensions. This...

A material that can rotate the polarization of light that passes through it. An optically active material exhibits different refractive indices for left- and right-circular polarizations (circular...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and its manifestation as both particle and wave phenomena. It encompasses the...

Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves in a material induced by the absorption of light. The term "optoacoustic"...

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...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems that integrate the manipulation of light and fluids. This field focuses on...

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue, typically neurons, which have been genetically modified to respond to light....

The ray that has an isotropic speed and maintains a uniform polarization in all propagation directions when traveling in a doubly refracting (birefringent) crystal. It obeys Snell's law upon...

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...