Photonics Dictionary: H

A device for forming at least two adjacent areas of polarized light. The angle between the directions of vibration of the light waves in the two areas is generally small.

A single housing that includes means of recording an image photographically and electronically.

A device small enough to be held in a hand that uses a magnifying lens and a translucent back to permit the viewing of photographic transparencies.

A series of flanges or other conducting surfaces, usually metal, attached to an electronic device to transmit and dissipate heat that might damage internal circuitry.

A rangefinder used to determine the height or altitude of aerial targets by means of optical triangulation. The device employs the stereoscopic principle.

A device having a plane mirror so mounted that it can be set to reflect sunlight into a piece of laboratory equipment. It is driven by a clock to compensate for the sun's daily motion around the pole...

A small mass spectrometer used to find leaks in a vacuum system by detecting the presence of helium. Using a magnetic deflection device that is permanently tuned to helium, it is capable of detecting...

Laboratory experiments that focus on demonstrating new capabilities of a certain technology or device, usually without consideration of industrial or commercial practicality.

A satellite-borne remote sensing device capable of transmitting images at 10 and 20 m resolution from an altitude of 830 km, each sensor covering a ground area of 60 km, by means of a folded...

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device designed to capture fast-moving events or phenomena at extremely high frame rates....

An imaging device whose technology contributes three specific advantages: ability to study large solid specimens that exhibit behavior in bulk; conduction of in situ studies of radiation damage; and...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

A method of measuring flow velocity by seeding the flow with neutrally buoyant particles and using a pulsed laser to holographically record particle displacement during a short time period. An...

An infrared device used in satellites and rockets to determine a heat horizon for the Earth at altitudes (above 200 miles) where the visible horizon cannot be discerned. The device scans the infrared...

A device that controls the output of a television receiver's horizontal oscillator.

A cryogenic cooler device that is an intermittent Joule-Thomson refrigerator with a passive radiator serving as the precooler. Used for satellite applications, the device has Joule-Thomson and gas...

A device where each pixel in the detector array is mated with a preamplifier on a single silicon chip, providing sensing and signal processing capabilities.

Device in which the various circuit elements are fabricated in different substrate materials and then appropriately joined together so that the various substrate materials can be chosen to optimize...

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for water. This network structure allows hydrogels to absorb and retain large...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...