Photonics Dictionary

The use of thin flexible glass or plastic fibers as wave guides — or "light pipes" — to channel light from one location to another. Fiber optics is based off of the principle of total...

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet light, which is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

A curve expressing an optical fiber's total transmitted power as a function of its launch angle at the input.

1. In optics, the housing, usually cylindrical, that contains the lenses and iris diaphragm of a camera. 2. In fiber optics, a device for coupling two connectors.

A type of fiber optic sensor that detects alteration in position, distance, pressure, liquid level or temperature by transmitting light across a gap to a reflector; a change in the light returned to...

A protective jacket added to an optical fiber to facilitate use in harsh environments. Armor usually consists of steel or aluminum and is placed between the fiber and its outer jacket.

A device used to measure power loss in fiber optic connectors, cables or systems.

In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the amplitude of a received signal rather than distortion.

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...

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...

In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the system bandwidth rather than the amplitude of the signal.

In the fabrication of an optical fiber, a layer that can be used to create a boundary against OH-ion diffusion into the core.

A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes the length required for the polarization to rotate 360 degrees. For a given...

The loss of optical power in an optical fiber because radiation escapes through its bends. The radiation loss caused by fiber bending is proportional to the bend radius.

The radius of curvature that an optical fiber can bend without breaking.

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

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

A technique developed by British Telecom in which the viscous drag of air is used to install optical fibers in narrow plastic tubes.

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or gas mains. The long narrow tube used contains a telescope system with as...

1. A group of optical fibers that are fused and then treated to produce a vacuum-tight optical fiber cone or plate. 2. An artificial crystal in its raw state, after generation but prior to cutting or...

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.

A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual cables into a single, larger cable. The breakout cable is designed to...

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...

1. In fiber optics, a protective material applied as an optical fiber cover that has no optical function. 2. In image processing, a peripheral that stores data between two active processing stages.

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

The number of channels per unit bandwidth handled by a single optical fiber.

The angle at which a given mode propagates down an optical fiber.

1. A localized fracture at the end of a cleaved optical fiber or on a glass surface. 2. An integrated circuit.

A laser whose pulses are expanded, using gratings and optical fibers, before amplification and compressed to increase beam intensity without damage to the optical train.

A small fiber optic endoscope used in laser surgery.

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...

In fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the fiber.

A mechanism or device, especially a coating with a refractive index equal to or slightly greater than that of an optical fiber's cladding, that removes modes propagating through the cladding by...

A ray that is reflected into the core of an optical fiber from the outer surface of the cladding.

A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser produces an optical wave that is modulated in amplitude, phase or frequency by...

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...

The process of linking optical fiber end to end.

The distance between the center of the two concentric circles of an optical fiber that designate the diameter of the cladding and the center of the two concentric circles that designate the diameter...

Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems. The major contributors are mutual core displacement and fiber axis tilt. It is observed in both permanent splices and...

The light-conducting portion of an optical fiber, defined by the region of high refractive index.

A semispherical or conical lens created directly on the core of an optical fiber to focus light from a laser into the fiber core.

The fraction of available output from a radiant source that is coupled and transmitted by an optical fiber.

The physical limit of an optical fiber or cable to withstand an applied force or weight perpendicular to the axis of the fiber.