Photonics Dictionary: M

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It consists of a micro-sized, gas-filled spherical cavity (the "microbubble")...

A device used in measuring the attenuation of multimode optical fibers. A short reference length of fiber when combined with the mode filter has approximately the same angular output distribution of...

A device for inducing mode coupling in an optical fiber. Also, a device composed of one or more optical fibers in which strong mode coupling occurs. Also called mode mixer.

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor material. Unlike the more common PIN photodiodes, which have a P-type and...