DataRay Inc. - ISO 11146-Compliant Laser Beam Profilers

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92 terms

Photonics Dictionary: B

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backlighting

The forming of a clear silhouette of an object by placing a light source behind it. Used in machine vision when surface features of an object are not important.

beamsplitting block

A glass block that produces stationary fringes in the region crossed by incident light beams.

bracketing

In photography, the technique of taking multiple pictures of the same subject at different exposures to compensate for exposure miscalculations. Automatic bracketing is a feature on some cameras.

Bragg grating

A filter that separates light into many colors via Bragg's law. Generally refers to a fiber Bragg grating used in optical communications to separate wavelengths.

bubble writing -> beam-addressable technology

The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is heated and then crystallized for writing. Bubble writing involves the...

birefringent crystal -> doubly refracting crystal

A transparent crystalline substance that is anisotropic relative to the velocity of light.

Babinet absorption rule

The rule stating that positive uniaxial crystals have greater absorption with respect to the extraordinary component of light, whereas negative crystals have greater absorption for the ordinary...

Babinet principle

The principle stating that two diffraction screens, one being exactly the negative of the other, will form the same diffraction patterns.

back-coated mirror

A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.

back-surface mirror -> back-coated mirror

A glass substrate that has its rear surface coated with a reflective coating. Also known as a back-surface mirror.

backlight compensation

The ability of a camera to compensate in cases where a subject with a large amount of background light would otherwise be obscured by blooming or silhouetting.

backreflection -> narcissus

A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into a detector. It can be reduced by low-reflective coatings or by altering the...

backscatter

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the incident beam. This occurs when the incident radiation encounters a target or...

backscattering coefficient, b

Fraction of light counter propagating collinear with the incident source. Processes considering backscattering are Raman, Brillouin, Rayleigh and Mie.

bacteriorhodopsin

A light-harvesting protein found in the purple membrane of a micro-organism called Halobacterium halobium. The protein undergoes a photocycle that involves several binary photochemical reactions that...

bakeout

The elimination of gases from the surfaces of a vacuum system by heating the surfaces when the pumping phase is occurring.

Baker-Nunn camera

A wide-field camera based on the classic Schmidt optical system used to photograph Earth-orbiting satellites.

ball lens

A ball lens is a small, spherical optical component typically made of glass or other transparent materials. It is characterized by its spherical shape, with both its front and back surfaces forming...

band head

The measured wavelength of the most distinct edge of a spectral band.

band-elimination filter

A filter that suppresses a given range of frequencies, transmitting only those above and below that band. Also called bandstop filter.

band-to-band photoluminescence

The emission of a photon by the return of an excited carrier from the conduction band to the valence band of a semiconductor along a radiative recombination path. The resulting photoluminescence...

bandgap

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed. It represents the energy difference between the valence band, which is the...

bandstop filter -> band-elimination filter

A filter that suppresses a given range of frequencies, transmitting only those above and below that band. Also called bandstop filter.

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory -> BCS theory

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin are paired as a result of forces arising from lattice vibrations. The theory...

barium fluoride

A relatively hard crystal, highly resistant to excessive energy radiation, that is frequently used for optical windows, prisms and lenses transmitting from the vacuum UV into the IR.

baseband

The simplest method of transmission on a local area network. The entire bandwidth of the cable is used to transmit a single unmodulated digital signal. Baseband transmission is capable of...

bathymetric map

A surveying map representing measurement of depth, particularly that of the ocean.

Baume scale

The scale for floating hydrometers used to measure the specific gravity of a polishing suspension. The depth of immersion is a linear function of the inverse of the density. The Baume scale is linear...

BCS theory

beam divider -> beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

beam matrix

1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications requiring arrayed multiple beams. 2. A mathematical 2 X 2 or 3 X 3 matrix for...

beam profiling

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It involves measuring and visualizing how the optical power or intensity is...

beam shaper

A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or light beam. The goal is to transform the incoming beam into a desired shape...

beam-addressable technology

The application of reversible writing with a laser beam on particular storage materials. In one method, an amorphous film is heated and then crystallized for writing. Bubble writing involves the...

beamsplitter

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

bellows

In optics, a collapsible structure situated between the lens and film of a camera to allow variation of the distance between them while preventing surrounding light from exposing the film.

bench -> optical bench

A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...

bench photometer

A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the produced flux densities are equal. The luminous intensities of the two...

Bessel functions

Two formulas used in diffractometer analysis, the first giving the individual diffraction patterns of each aperture, the second representing the constant of the degree of an incoherent circular...

bi-quartz

A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other levorotary, over the analyzer of a polariscope. In this way, polarization tints may...

bias buildup

Degradation factor in coherent light systems where the amplitude of the recorded signal is decreased as the number of object points is increased, resulting in poor noise performance.

biconic connector

A type of fiber optic connector consisting of two cone-shaped ferrules aligned by a mating sleeve.

bifurcated fiber

A branched fiber optic lightguide that performs both receiving and transmitting functions.

bilinear interpolation

It is often necessary to estimate the value of what a pixel would be between neighboring pixels. This is accomplished by interpolating (or inserting) the value of a pixel between neighboring pixels....

binary image

A digitized image consisting of just two brightness levels, as black and white, represented in memory as zeros and ones.

binary optics

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....

binning

Combining adjacent pixels into one larger pixel, resulting in increased sensitivity and lower resolution, or, in image analysis, excluding objects based on shape, position or area.

binocular

Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to facilitate observation. See also prism binoculars.

binocular magnifier

A device having a pair of decentered lenses, one for each eye, that focuses on a single object as a magnifier. It is often supplied with a forehead fixture or an elastic headband to leave the hands...

binocular microscope

A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.

Photonics DictionaryB