Photonics Dictionary

Method of preserving the measured color value and color information as it is translated from differing devices. For example the output of a television display may be measured to have an identical...

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular wavelength or energy level. It is a distinctive feature in the absorption...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the on-current at each OLED cell or...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two thin-film transistors (TFTs) to control the on-current at each OLED cell or...

Transformation of an image, such as a change in position or scale, that does not alter the linearity of the original image.

A category of systems designed to communicate a photo taken from the air (e.g., aircraft, balloon, satellite) to a ground station. It can be done by direct television transmission of the photo, or by...

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and simulate the propagation of optical waves, particularly in the context of wave...

Gamma ray radiation released when matter and antimatter, such as electron and positron, unite and eliminate each other, transforming completely into energy. The resulting gamma ray spectrum depends...

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...

The formation of an image by a pinhole aperture that transmits radiation, such as gamma radiation.

The use of a variable transmission filter at the aperture stop of a lens to modify its diffraction pattern. Reduced transmission at the center of the aperture will favor performance at high...

A method of data multiplexing that can provide large, instantaneous bandwidths for busy traffic while permitting slow traffic to use that bandwidth between bursts. Very short, fixed-length packets or...

A mode of data transmission whereby each bit of information is generated separately, with some stop/start code to indicate the interval between bits.

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...

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...

An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...

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...

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...

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....

A small convergent lens, located between the objective and eyepiece of a microscope, that focuses an image of the upper focal plane of the objective in the focal plane of the eyepiece. It is commonly...

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

A piece of glass, quartz or other transparent material formed roughly by molding or cutting into the approximate shape and size of the finished part.

A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind) approach in landing. The signal is transmitted to the aircraft's L-scan...

The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1 are the energies of the states among which transition takes place, and h is...

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with acoustic phonons (quantized lattice vibrations) in a material, resulting in the...

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a specified bandwidth while attenuating or rejecting signals outside of that...

The production of visible light by infrared radiation whereby the light is produced by heat and not by any direct change in wavelength; the transformation is indirect.

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers arranged in a specific geometric pattern to maintain the spatial coherence of...

A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of crystallographic defect in a crystalline structure that introduces color to the...

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

Colorimetry is the science and technology of quantitatively describing and measuring colors. It involves the precise evaluation of color attributes such as hue, saturation, and brightness, using...

The use of computer analysis in the calculation of diffraction patterns for information on the design of optical systems. In this method, the electric field amplitude and phase in the aperture are...

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

1. A solid figure whose base is a circle and whose sides taper upward evenly to a point or apex. Light rays diverging from or converging upon a point are sometimes referred to as a cone of light. 2....