Photonics Dictionary

A method of cleaning and drying coated optical components. The cooled parts are placed in a container above a boiling solvent, whose vapors condense on the parts. When the parts reach the temperature...

An Abbe condenser in which the upper lens element is fixed. The lower lens may focus the illumination between the elements so that it emerges from the fixed lens as a large-diameter parallel bundle....

A lens assembly containing several movable elements to permit changing of the effective focal length (EFL). Unlike a zoom lens, a variable-focus lens may require refocusing with each change of EFL....

A machine vision technique of image correlation whereby the correlation kernel (template of the desired image) is transformed into a group of vectors, each representing a specific feature of the...

A factor of an equation of the Faraday effect, which is the rotation of the plane of light polarization by transparent materials in a magnetic field. Therefore, in the equation: where a...

The point of intersection of the optical axis with any centered optical surface.

The reciprocal of the back focal distance of a spectacle lens.

An aerial photograph produced when the optical axis of the camera is perpendicular to the surface below.

With respect to a television system, a pulse transmitted at the end of each field to break off the cathode-ray beam as it begins the next field.

The difference in base up or down prism power at corresponding points located on the two lenses of a pair of spectacles.

A two-sided mirror suspended by a pendulum mechanism. An autocollimator set normal to such a mirror surface will, by definition, have its optical axis set horizontal.

In television system specifications, the number of parallel horizontal black and white lines of equal thickness, that can be resolved from top to bottom of the raster. (One line equals either a black...

A type of surface-emitting laser diode that uses dielectric mirrors to produce surface emission. The laser cavity is established in a vertical direction with respect to the plane of the active region.

A device that measures the back focal length or vertex power of a lens.

A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are connected by chemical bonds, and these atoms are not stationary but are in...

A type of change in the energy levels of molecules in a laser that results in lasing action. Vibronic transitions are those between one electronic level and another.

A test similar to the Knoop hardness test, but used for fractured material. The indenter is a square-based pyramid-shaped diamond.

A display standard no longer in use and originally defined for IBM PCs, with 640 3 480 pixels in 16 colors and a 4:3 aspect ratio. There is also a text mode with 720 3 400 pixels. The standard has...

A disc whose surface contains recorded digital data at high-packing densities arranged in concentric rings. The data, representing video frames, are both recorded and read by a laser beam.

A small television tube originally developed for closed-circuit television. It is about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches long. Its controls are relatively simple and can be operated by unskilled...

A camera that permits adjustments in the perspective of an image; this is accomplished by the camera design, which permits tilt, swing, rise or fall of the image transmitted. Also known as a...

A filter, pale purple in color, used in black and white photography to display the brightness values of a subject being recorded on film.

In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations of the clear apertures of elements within the system.

The product of the actual base or baseline of a rangefinder or heightfinder, and the power or magnification of the instrument.

Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological images and structures without the need for traditional physical slides and...

An image that is formed when rays emerging from an optical system are diverging from the optical axis. The virtual image is formed where the bundle of diverging rays appear to intersect each other...

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be interacted with and explored by an individual using electronic devices, such as a...

The use of miniature scanners to project raster-scanned video images directly onto the surface of the human retina, eliminating the need for a projection surface.

An imaginary line between the object, through the nodal point of the eye, and the fovea, or point of finest retinal acuity.

A device that enables visual tracing of a fiber optic cable to check for breaks and defects by coupling visible light into the cable. Also called fiber tracer.

A photometer that permits visual comparison of the luminance of two surfaces.

Having the characteristics of glass.

A blank area (caused by insufficient inking of the paper) that falls within the range of an intended character stroke in an optical character-recognition system.

The induced birefringence in isotropic gases that results when the gases are placed in strong fields.

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of space. Unlike traditional two-dimensional (2D) imaging, which provides...

A vortex phase plate is an optical device designed to impart a phase singularity, commonly referred to as a vortex or phase vortex, onto a light beam. This singularity results in a phase profile...

A system used for gratings that consists of a concave mirror, a grating and a plate holder mounted normal to the grating to reduce astigmatism and spherical aberration. The mounting yields a...

In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a semiconducting material, usually crystalline silicon. Wafers serve as the...