Photonics Dictionary: F

An optical recording technique that uses light source(s), a beamsplitting cube, light detector(s) and an optical fiber chronically implanted in animal brain to deliver excitation light to neurons...

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...

A photodetector employing photoregeneration of carriers in the channel region of an FET structure to provide photodetection with current gain.

A spectrophotometer that makes use of filters to isolate narrow bands of the spectrum.

Any of a number of instruments that uses a flame to vaporize a solution of the chemical being analyzed so that light may be passed through the vapor. Monochromation of the transmitted light is...

A part of the spectrochemical analysis of a sample that deals with the excitation of that sample by flame analysis.

The study of the reflection or transmission properties of specimens as a function of wavelength after they have been excited by flame-analysis techniques.

A filter, partially opaque to near-ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation, that may be made by exposing and processing photographic film. Such materials are almost equally opaque to radiation of...

A spectroscopic technique used in the detection of free radicals by virtue of their electronic spectra. In this method, an intense light flash is used to form extensive photolysis and yield a high...

A bench photometer that depends on the inability of the eye to distinguish color in brief flashes of light. Any difference in the intensity of reflected colored samples, presented to the observer in...

Heterochromatic photometry that depends on the elimination of chromatic flicker at a lower frequency than luminance flicker.

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 application of ultraviolet, x-ray, infrared and conventional photography to law enforcement.

A laser skin-resurfacing method that creates microscopic thermal wounds referred to as microscopic treatment zones (MTZs), which are surrounded by uninjured tissue. The MTZs are usually arranged in a...

Photoconductivity that may be extended as far as the microwave region because of the absorption of photons by electrons.

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set parallel to one another by spacers so that lightwaves may bounce back and forth...

Measurement of the interval during which a photodetector's signal and output current drops from 90 to 10 percent.

Entirely analogous to color photography, but inclusive of light bands that do not appear in the visible spectrum.

A set of rays through a lens originating at a common point and contained in one plane.

A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds, where one femtosecond is equal to 10-15 seconds. These lasers are capable of...

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and other components that are assembled together to facilitate the transmission of...

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in orientation or rotation. It operates based on the principle of the Sagnac effect,...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each fiber optic strand within the bundle acts as a conduit for transmitting light....

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It serves as the precursor from which optical fibers are drawn. The process of...

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or environmental parameters. Unlike traditional electrical sensors, fiber optic sensors...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...

The face of a cathode-ray tube (CRT) that has a fiber optic sheet attached to its surface. The sheet's fibers are at right angles to the face, allowing the transmittance of the fluorescent trace...

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...

1. In raster scan television, one of the two scans that are interlaced to make up a frame. 2. See field of view.

An X-Y electrically addressable series of arrays with individual electron emitters bombarding a phosphor-coated transparent plate. The phosphor is induced into luminescence, similar to traditional...

An image-forming instrument in which a strong electrostatic field causes cold emission of electrons from a sharply rounded point or from an object that is located on that point. The electrons are...

An aperture located at an image plane of an optical system that determines the size and shape of the image.

The site behind the lens system in a camera where photographic media are positioned for exposure.

A device used to scan images or information on photographic film for the subsequent relay of information.

An instrument designed to place nongraphic information, usually generated by a computer, onto photographic film. The information is generally encoded as a series of opaque and translucent spots, or...

The process by which the light from the images of photographic film is encoded into electrical signals for video transmission.

The necessary increase of a photograph's exposure time as the result of the additional absorption of light by the filter being used.

A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the Twyman-Green, the Fizeau interferometer has fewer optical components, does...