Photonics Dictionary: I

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...

Also known as integrated exposure. A measurement of light from sources that vary rapidly with time, defined as the integral of instantaneous power and time and expressed as units per second.

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

An energy transition concerned with the combination of a photon and a phonon.

Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the III-V group of semiconductors, where elements from groups III and V of the...

Inductance is a fundamental property of an electrical circuit or component that describes its ability to store energy in a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it. It is typically...

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by supplying electrical energy to the electron beam through a series of transformers.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to release energy. In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the infrared radiation emitted by objects, revealing temperature variations across...

An image converter that produces a visible image based on the infrared emittance of the object. The infrared energy is focused on a photocathode that emits electrons. These are accelerated and...

A phosphor, such as sulfide or selenide, that can be excited to luminescence by incident infrared radiation simultaneous to or following its excitation by visible radiant energy.

An optical system used to collect infrared energy from a scene using scanning optics with a point or line detector, as compared with a fixed optical system with a full two-dimensional detector array.

Injection locking, also known as injection-phase locking or injection-phase control, is a phenomenon in which a weak signal is synchronized with a stronger signal due to the injection of energy or...

An interband cascade laser (ICL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on interband transitions between energy bands in a semiconductor material. Unlike traditional semiconductor...

A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently, these filters are made up of thin layers of metals and dielectrics,...

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy efficiency and ability to produce high-quality reflective color displays....

Interlayer attraction refers to the attractive forces between adjacent layers of atoms or molecules in a material, particularly in layered structures such as van der Waals solids, graphene, and...

A spectral line of an internal standard; used to compare radiant energy of the line being analyzed.

Collisional absorption of energy that occurs in inertial confinement fusion systems when hydrodynamic expansion of the plasma causes an electron passing through the field of an ion to absorb...

The interaction between a photon and an energetic electron, caused by collision, that transfers energy from the electron to the photon, thus raising the energy of the photon.

The changing of the kinetic energy of a mobile electron into radiant energy, as in formation of x-rays.

A technique for improving the structure density of thin-film coatings by bombarding the growing film with accelerated ions of oxygen and argon. The kinetic energy then dissipates in the film, causing...

Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It involves bombarding a target material with a beam of energetic ions,...

The amount of energy required for a particular kind of atom to remove an electron to infinite distance. The ionization potential is usually expressed in volts.

An enclosure for a calorimeter that allows measurement of unusually low quantities of power and energy.

A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The isotopic species may then be measured using a time of flight mass spectrometer....