Photonics Dictionary: D

The transmission of light by a condenser to observe either very small particles or very fine lines with a microscope.

The concept of the de Broglie wavelength exploits the wave-particle duality of quantum physics by associating all matter (of all sizes) with wavelike properties. The de Broglie wavelength states that...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on a medium, such as a photographic film. 2. A device used to measure the...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

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...

A polarizer that consists of dichroic polarizing material embedded in a plastic sheet, and that transmits light that is almost completely plane polarized with an intensity that is half that of the...

A lidar (light detection and ranging) technique used in pollution monitoring. Two light beams are emitted simultaneously, one at a wavelength that will be absorbed by the target particles, and the...

1. The ring patterns of light that seem to encircle particles in the field of a microscope. 2. See Newton's rings.

Elastic scattering that occurs when inelastic processes eliminate particles from the beam.

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often associated with military and technological applications where energy, typically...

An instrument that uses a photoelectric system to determine the size and volume of dust particles in a given unit of air.

In atmospheric optics, the almost total blocking of light transmission in the atmosphere due to the scattering and absorption of the light by dust particles.