Photonics Dictionary

A device that enlarges and strengthens a signal's output without significantly distorting its original waveshape. There are amplifiers for acoustical, optical and electronic signals.

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...

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 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...

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The design of double-clad fibers allows them to be used in various...

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

A CCD device in which a solid-state electron multiplying register has been added to the end of the normal serial register. The electron multiplying register allows weak signals to be multiplied...

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier. A material that exhibits gain rather than absorption, at certain...

Temporal jitter at a signal's receiver when amplified noise causes frequency shifts, as with a soliton traveling through an erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

A device where each pixel in the detector array is mated with a preamplifier on a single silicon chip, providing sensing and signal processing capabilities.

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

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,...

Any noise or current fluctuation that prevents precise measurement of the signal current. Both dark current and signal current have random fluctuations that affect the arrival of pulses. Thermal...

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using various techniques to selectively switch or redirect optical paths. This...

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light and its interactions with different materials. The term "optoelectronics" is...

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains an input amplifier, a light-emitting diode, a photodiode and an output...

Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the context of signal processing, it occurs when the phase response of a system...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally introduced into the crystal lattice of a material to modify its properties....

Operation in which the minimum detectable signal has its limits set by the thermal noise of the detector, the load resistance and the amplifier noise.