Photonics Dictionary

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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...

contrast transfer function -> modulation transfer function

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency...

Fourier analysis

The representation of arbitrary functions as the superposition of sinusoidal functions whereby the representations themselves are referred to as Fourier series or Fourier integers.

Fourier integers -> Fourier analysis

The representation of arbitrary functions as the superposition of sinusoidal functions whereby the representations themselves are referred to as Fourier series or Fourier integers.

impedance

Qualitatively, the inverse of the amount of velocity produced by the application of a sinusoidal force to a system; therefore, if velocity is high, impedance at that point is low. Quantitatively,...

lock-in amplifier

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or interference. It is particularly useful in fields such as spectroscopy,...

modulation transfer function analysis/measurement equipment

MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer function (MTF) of optical systems. The MTF is a quantitative measure of the...

modulation transfer function

MTF curve -> modulation transfer function

optical transfer function

The function that characterizes the quality of an optical system by denoting the modulation and spatial phase shift of the image of a sinusoidal object with frequency as the independent variable.

phase angle

1. The angle between two vectors that represent two simple periodic quantities that vary sinusoidally and that have the same frequency. 2. See phase.

phase position -> phase angle

1. The angle between two vectors that represent two simple periodic quantities that vary sinusoidally and that have the same frequency. 2. See phase.

propagation constant

For an electromagnetic field mode varying sinusoidally with time at a given frequency, the logarithmic rate of change, with respect to distance in a given direction, of the complex amplitude of any...

Rabi oscillations

Rabi oscillations are a fundamental phenomenon in quantum mechanics that describe the periodic and reversible exchange of energy between two quantum states when subjected to an oscillating external...

Rugate filters

A Rugate filter is a type of optical filter that is designed to have a continuously varying refractive index profile throughout its thickness, rather than the discrete layers found in traditional...

sine wave object

An object that has a sinusoidal variation of luminance. Its image will have a sinusoidal variation of illuminance and the only effect of degeneration by the lens system will be to reduce the...

sine wave response -> modulation transfer function

sine wave testing chart

A test chart whose luminance changes uniformly in one direction according to a sinusoidal rule. These charts carry groups of black lines on a white ground, the intensity profile across the lines...

wavelength

Electromagnetic energy is transmitted in the form of a sinusoidal wave. The wavelength is the physical distance covered by one cycle of this wave; it is inversely proportional to frequency.

Photonics Dictionary

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