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Photonics Dictionary: A

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Abbe refractometer
Device which measures the index of refraction of glass as well as the dispersion over visible range.
absolute refractive index
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the speed of light in the medium.
acoustophotorefractive effect
The change in refractive index that occurs as acoustic vibrations are transmitted through an optical material.The index changes are periodic in relation to the frequency, spatial orientation, and...
angle of refraction
The angle formed between a refracted ray and the normal to the surface. This angle lies in a common plane with the angle of incidence. See also Snell's law of refraction.
atmospheric refraction correlation
Formulaic compensation to correct laser ranging data for the effects of horizontal refractivity gradients; it requires the horizontal pressure and temperature gradient at laser sites, which are...
Abbe constant
A dispersion relation defined in order to value the reciprocal amount of dispersion. It is defined as the refractivity over the difference in index values of the shortest and longest visible...
absorbing wedge
A doped or absorbing transparent medium cut or molded into a wedge in order to measure the real and imaginary components of the refractive index. An internally reflected Gaussian beam is interfered...
absorption index
The absorption index represents the imaginary component of the complex index of refraction, and not the real component. The imaginary component may characterize the attenuation per unit length...
achromatic prism
Cemented prisms of differing refractive indices which refract incident light and, due to differing refractive indices, will not spatially separate individual wavelengths.
acousto-optic deflection
The angular change of an incident beam due to vibrational induced refractive index changes within a crystal.
acousto-optic diffraction
Light diffracted by a solid (usually quartz in crystal or fused form) traversed by acoustic waves. If the ultrasonic wavelength is larger than the diameter of the light beam, the diffraction orders...
acousto-optic tunable filter
A bulk crystalline optic which permits the propagation of light through a volume of index altered material. The variation in refractive index along the material volume is due to a piezoelectric...
angle of deviation
The angle through which a ray of light is deviated by a refracting or reflecting surface, or a prism; the angle between an incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray.
anisotropy
Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions. In various fields, including physics, materials science, and geology,...
anomalous dispersion
Dispersion that occurs when the medium's index of refraction decreases as the frequency of the propagating light increases. For a given medium, some wavelength ranges may produce anomalous dispersion...
anomalous propagation
Irregular propagation of a wave due to variations in the medium's density or refractive index.
antiguide
A waveguide that has a core with a lower refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding. This structure can limit the power of the transmitted beam by removing unwanted radiation, for...
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to minimize unwanted reflections and increase the transmission of light...
AR
Abbe refractometer; acoustic radiometer; acoustic resonance; active region; alpha ray; amplitude ratio; antireflective; aperture ratio; applied research; argon; aspect ratio; atomic reactor; augmented reality
aspheric lens system
An optical system having one or more lens or mirror components that have nonspherical surfaces. These surfaces, whether reflecting or refracting, serve to advance or retard the incident wavefront,...
astronomical telescope
An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial objects for observation and analysis. It typically consists of two main optical...
atmospheric inhomogeneities
Localized variations in the purity and the index of refraction of the atmosphere.
attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy
Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...
autocollimating spectrograph
A spectrograph in which the refracted beam returns almost along the path traveled by the incident beam, and is brought to a focus by the lens that collimates the incident beam.
automatic profiling
In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This information is calculated electronically to establish the divergence between...
axial gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation, or optical axis. Axial gradient lenses can be used to correct spherical...
axial vapor-phase deposition
A vapor-phase oxidation process for fabricating graded-index optical fibers. It differs from outside vapor phase deposition in that the preform is developed radially rather than longitudinally. An...
azimuth angle
1. In astronomy, the angle measured clockwise (eastward) in a horizontal plane, usually from north (true north, Y-north, grid north or magnetic north). 2. With relation to the plane-polarized light...
Photonics DictionaryA


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