Photonics Dictionary: I

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its external environment, including peripherals, storage devices, networks, and...

An electron tube that is used as a camera tube for a television system. When the picture to be transmitted is focused on a photosensitive surface, electrons are emitted from each section of the...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized electronic device used to amplify low-light-level images to make them visible to...

A laser diode with an output beam contained in the active layer by means of a built-in refractive index profile formed in that layer or in the adjacent cladding layers or both.

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is...

Any object that emits radiation of a wavelength lying between about 0.75 to 1000 µm. A calibrated secondary source usually is a heated cavity (blackbody) or a filament lamp rated in wattage...

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It contains an internal modulator to amplitude-modulate the output signal, an...

An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector outputs. With an intensity interferometer, the primary collectors need not be...

A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized gas. The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube,...