Photonics Dictionary: C

An infrared detector that achieves a specified sensitivity through the application of certain cryogenic temperatures.

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

In optics and photonics, ceramics refer to advanced ceramic materials that possess unique optical properties, making them suitable for various applications involving the manipulation and control of...

A photoemissive detector sensitive to wavelengths up to 1 µm. It has one sharp maximum of sensitivity at 350 nm and a broad maximum at 800 nm.

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along the tube causes photoemission from the photocathode at the end of the tube...

A light-sensitive detector having a chemical compound that reacts when exposed to light. It is used in photochemistry and relies on the chemical reaction to determine the amount of incident radiation.

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of the beam. It also is used in infrared detectors to scan the object field...

A cryogenically cooled component incorporated into the Dewar of an infrared detector assembly to maintain the sensing elements at the proper temperature (77 K or colder).

That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a uniformly cold temperature so that no thermal energy is emitted. Also known as...

The solid angle of a detector or system pupil as seen by the source.

A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture in front of the illumination source and the other at the focal position in...

1. In color development, the chemical that combines with certain by-products of the development procedure to form a dye. 2. Device for distributing optical power among two or more ports. 3. Device...

A cryogenically cooled long-wave infrared (LWIR) camera is a specialized thermal imaging device designed to detect infrared radiation in the long-wave infrared spectrum, typically ranging from 8 to...

A diode with a semiconducting material, such as germanium or silicon, for one electrode, and a fine wire "whisker'' which lies on the semiconductor, as the other electrode. The low capacitance...

1. In detector technology, the long wavelength at which detector response falls to a set percentage (usually 20 or 50 percent). 2. In fiber optics, the shortest wavelength at which a fiber transmits...