Photonics Dictionary: D

A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Each mirror element in the film can be...

A frame taken to identify electronic noise in a CCD imaging device. A dark frame is recorded without exposing the CCD to any external light by, for example, leaving the shutter of a CCD camera...

A device used in ultrasonic imaging to measure the velocity and attenuation of compressional waves in a transparent liquid by virtue of acoustic waves set up in the liquid. The wavefronts serve as a...

A CCD device for sensing longer wavelengths, such as NIR and IR, that has a deeper depletion region than would be necessary for sensing in the visible wavelength range. Because the depth of charge...

A device used to delay transmission of a signal for functions such as memory loops, sequential processing or built-in testing. The delay can be achieved by coiling long lengths of coaxial cable or...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on a medium, such as a photographic film. 2. A device used to measure the...

A device that obliterates the polarization of a polarized beam by reflecting the beam in all directions at right angles to its axis.

1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of the radiation. The device may function by electrical, photographic or...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments, particularly in the field of infrared spectroscopy or other applications...

A device in which the functions of optical detector and emitter are combined.

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

1. An optical device used for projection of enlarged images of transparencies or lantern slides on a screen. 2. A device designed to hold and backlight transparencies so that their images can be...

Dichalcogenides are a class of compounds composed of two atoms of a chalcogen element bonded to a single atom of a metal or metalloid element. Chalcogens are the elements in group 16 of the periodic...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

A device used to investigate the dichroism of crystals.

Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or chip is attached and electrically connected to a substrate or a package....

A device that produces an interferogram that can be directly related to the temperature gradient and thereby provides a direct measure of the convective heat transfer coefficients.

The slope of the curve when output is plotted against input for quantum efficiency in a device.

Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs light into specific diffraction orders or achieves a desired optical effect....

Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates, holographic lenses, kinoform lenses and binary optics.

A measurement device used to study the structure of matter using the diffraction of electromagnetic radiation.

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

A linear computation or algorithm performed on a selected series in the form of an input signal that produces a new series as output. The computational device may be a specifically designed...

A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This digital replica is created using real-time data and simulation models, allowing...

In image processing, a device that transforms the digital data into an analog video image that can be viewed on a monitor or printed.

A device that samples and quantizes a signal in digital form for storage in memory.

An electric or electronic device that regulates the voltage going to a light source as a means of varying the intensity of the light emitted by the source.

A two-electrode device with an anode and a cathode that passes current in only one direction. It may be designed as an electron tube or as a semiconductor device.

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often associated with military and technological applications where energy, typically...

A device that provides simple and reliable laser power and energy measurement. Essentially a heat flux sensor producing an output proportional to the power, rather than the energy input.

A device similar to distributed feedback lasers in construction and operation, but in which the period grating that produces feedback is removed from the gain region to simplify fabrication. The...

A type of asynchronous shutter device that is used particularly in CCD sensor applications to capture an image of a high-speed subject with no time delay. The word donpisha is taken from the Japanese...

In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities into a semiconductor material in order to alter its electrical properties....

A device used to detect and measure the quantity of exposure to nuclear or x-ray radiation, and dependent on the fact that such radiation ionizes a gas.

A measurement of the spatial resolution of a line or area array in an optical character recognition scanning device.

A device used to create a light output that exceeds light input, the energy being provided by an electric field. It consists of a photoconductive layer with an electroluminescent layer between plates...

The hardware for reading (and writing in devices so equipped) an optical mass data storage disk.

An image-processing device that scans in a straight line parallel to the axis of a rotating cylinder to which the material to be recorded is affixed.

A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a different wavelength of laser light. To record data, the lower layer is heated by...