Photonics Dictionary

An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...

A piece of glass, quartz or other transparent material formed roughly by molding or cutting into the approximate shape and size of the finished part.

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...

The process of forming a lens to a given pattern, or of cutting a piece of glass along the line of scratch.

A tool made by imbedding small particles of diamond in the working edge. In the optical field, the most commonly used diamond tools are glass saws, cup-shaped tools for curve generators, and diamond...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

A metal tool used to grind lenses with loose abrasive (see diamond cutting tool). The functional surface of the lap is carefully formed to be opposite the curve to be produced on the glass (concave...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing process to precisely cut and slice materials such as crystals, glass, and quartz...