Photonics Dictionary: N

A device that uses low-level visible radiation or infrared radiation to produce a visual image of a night scene. These devices may rely on the amplification of existing visible light by...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a high-resolution, high-throughput process that involves the mechanical...

An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are commonly used for lighting, displays, and indicators. A NanoLED is on the...

Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at dimensions smaller than the wavelength of light. It involves the study and...

Nanoplasmonics is a branch of nanophotonics that focuses on the study and manipulation of optical phenomena at the nanoscale using plasmonic materials and structures. Plasmonics deals with the...

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer scale. This technology enables the positioning of objects with extremely high...

The use of atoms, molecules and molecular-scale structures to enhance existing technology and develop new materials and devices. The goal of this technology is to manipulate atomic and molecular...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of various materials, including carbon, boron nitride, or other compounds....

An optical pyrometer that is equipped with a narrow bandpass filter to transmit a limited number of wavelengths to the sensing device.

A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest which is provided by multiple scans within the near-field region of a...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The near-infrared spectrum typically extends from about 700...

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum....

Literally, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet. A cylindrical rod of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium that is the active medium of the Nd:YAG laser, a highly serviceable solid-state device...

A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows computers to connect to a local area network (LAN) and communicate with other...

Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and functioning of the human brain and nervous system. The term is derived from...

A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual system. Inspired by the biological principles of the human eye and brain,...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small silvered, glass mirrors that are suspended, in the way of a torsion balance, by a...

A device consisting of a disc with a spiral arrangement of holes that is used to convert visible patterns into electrical patterns. Light is reflected from the subject and focused through a vertical...

A pollution-measuring device used to detect the presence of nitric oxide regardless of other gases present. It utilizes the principle of laser magnetic resonance (LMR).

A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom adjacent to a vacancy (an empty lattice site) in the diamond...

The unwanted and unpredictable fluctuations that distort a received signal and hence tend to obscure the desired message. Noise disturbances, which may be generated in the devices of a communications...

Nonlinear polarization refers to the phenomenon where the polarization of a material responds nonlinearly to an applied electric field. In linear systems, the polarization of a material is directly...

A radiometric device or system having uniform responsivity relative to all of the radiation parameters, or relative to one or more specified parameters, throughout all parameter intervals in which...

A filtering device that detects what is new in a scene of interest. Often compared to that of a temporal high pass filter, these filters will remove elements that appear repeatedly throughout an...