Photonics Dictionary: A

Light diffracted by a solid (usually quartz in crystal or fused form) traversed by acoustic waves. If the ultrasonic wavelength is larger than the diameter of the light beam, the diffraction orders...

The optical reconstruction of image information contained in a sound field. First the diffraction pattern, formed by an object irradiated by ultrasonic rays, interferes with a mutually coherent...

A bulk crystalline optic which permits the propagation of light through a volume of index altered material. The variation in refractive index along the material volume is due to a piezoelectric...

The equation devised by Sir G.B. Airy for the analysis of light diffraction near a caustic surface: (d2f/dz2) - zf = 0 where z represents the independent variable, and f is the value of the function.

The central peak (including everything interior to the first zero or dark ring) of the focal diffraction pattern of a uniformly irradiated, aberration-free circular optical element or system.

A hologram in which diffraction is produced by the silver image, resulting in a dimmer image than in a phase hologram, where diffraction takes place at the gelatin relief image left once the silver...

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and simulate the propagation of optical waves, particularly in the context of wave...

The use of a variable transmission filter at the aperture stop of a lens to modify its diffraction pattern. Reduced transmission at the center of the aperture will favor performance at high...

A bright spot or point, due to Fresnel diffraction, that appears at the center of the shadow of a circular object in light originating from a point source. Also referred to as a Fresnel spot or...

Spectrometric analysis of the distinct and characteristic spectra of atoms of elements. The atoms are energized to emit radiant energy, which, when dispersed by a prism or diffraction grating,...