Photonics Dictionary

Characteristic of a surface or object that has luminous flux incident upon it.

A magnifying lens fitted with a battery-operated lamp by which an object can be conveniently illuminated during observation.

A desklike apparatus with an opal glass surface illuminated from beneath by fluorescent tubes. It is equipped with roll holders for aerial films and a low-power microscope or some form of...

A CCD that has been reduced in thickness by etching so that light passes through the back layers of the CCD. This type of CCD typically has higher sensitivity, especially to blue light, and higher...

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 spectral phenomenon in which the degree of the photoresponse of an illuminated semiconductor is determined by the wavelength composition of the incident light.

Technique of projecting an illuminated target at infinity and receiving the target image after reflection from a flat mirror surface.

Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when exposed to light. Unlike fluorescence that results from the application of...

A microscope to which a beamsplitter and illuminated reticle have been added to measure the radius of curvature of a spherical surface by locating both surface and center and calculating the distance...

Refers to a display or screen that is illuminated from behind; the light is transmitted as opposed to reflected.

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or gas mains. The long narrow tube used contains a telescope system with as...

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

An instrument for measuring the brightness (luminance) of a scene. It may be a spot meter, covering an area of a degree or less, or an averaging meter, covering a broad area of the scene. Brightness...

An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e. illuminated slit or retical) at its focal plane. Collimators are used to...

Condition in which two stimuli appear to match in color to a specified observer, or in which two objects appear to match in color to a specified observer when illuminated by a specified source.

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

A single positive lens or group of lenses used in a projection system to collect light from a source and cause it to illuminate evenly the object to be projected.

Fine lines, wires or threads used in the focal plane of many optical instruments to point out and locate particular objects in the field of view. They were formerly made from a single strand of...

A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced, uniform-intensity spots or beams. It is named after its inventor, Dr. Herbert Dammann. The...

A technique whereby the sample is illuminated by a hollow cone of light larger than the acceptance angle of the objective, so that only scattered light is seen, revealing any irregularities of the...

A flanged or plain ring with a restricted aperture, located in an optical system at any of several points, that cuts off marginal light rays not essential to image formation. Diaphragms are used as...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

The logarithm of the reciprocal of diffuse transmittance. Diffuse density results when a sample is diffusely illuminated.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties of materials, particularly in the field of spectroscopy. Unlike traditional...

A scanning technique in which the object is illuminated the entire time, and in which picture elements of the object are viewed singly by the television camera.

In optical character recognition, the mechanical or electronic transducer used to detect the level of illumination present in the various portions of an illuminated sample region.

An imaging process, similar to specific Doppler mapping radar techniques, that utilizes a laser, an optical imaging system, and a line array of photodetectors and spectrum analyzers. The laser...

Interferometric measurement of the interference pattern recorded when a complex object is illuminated by two laser pulses that interfere and form the pattern to be evaluated.

Holographic recording whereby the object is illuminated by two pulses, separated by a time interval, from a Q-switched laser source. Each pulse is divided into reference and object beams, and...

The color of an object when it is illuminated by a nonisophotic source.

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

A fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna (FCPA) is a type of optoelectronic device that combines a photoconductive antenna with optical fibers for the purpose of generating or detecting terahertz...

Fixed-pattern noise is the measure of the static (nontemporal) differences between pixels when the detector is evenly illuminated. In microbolometers, this effect is mostly caused by mismatch between...

A frame taken with a CCD camera of a surface that is evenly illuminated by diffuse light. This frame shows irregularities in the light-sensing ability of the CCD, such as electronic defects and dust...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of cells and particles suspended in a fluid. The method...

The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the exciting source is removed. In the process, the subject may be illuminated by...

The moving spot of light emitted by a source, generally a cathode-ray tube, to illuminate specific points of an area carrying light and dark regions according to a specific pattern.

The number of separate images exposed by a cine camera in a second or the number illuminated by a cine projector in a second. By varying the number of images recorded per second, films can be created...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

A specific type of hologram that will transmit a pure plane wave when the hologram is illuminated by the type of wave it is matched to.

Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and diffraction of light. Unlike conventional photography, which records only...

A glass rhomb that is used in photometry to compare two illuminated surfaces. This is accomplished by the rhomb's angles, which transmit two light beams, one from each of the two surfaces, so that...

A type of microscope that uses radiation in the infrared region to illuminate objects that are opaque to visible radiation. The microscope consists of two illumination systems (transmitted and...

An infrared source combined with reflecting projection optics to illuminate a target making it visible when observed through an infrared viewing device.

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the instrument is an automated microtome and microscope capable of producing...