Photonics Dictionary

Designed for the function of optical wavefront analysis. Shack-Hartmann camera aberration sensors use a lens array to image the wavefront to the CCD image plane. Live feedback may be applied through...

An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon where different colors of light...

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.

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 second adjustable iris diaphragm in an optical system. In the common microscope condenser system, it usually is located beneath the substage condenser on a transmitted light microscope. When the...

An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and coma. Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays...

An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical lenses, which have a constant curvature across their surfaces, aspheric lenses...

An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical surface profile. Unlike traditional spherical mirrors, which have a curved...

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...

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.

A frame taken with a CCD camera over an exposure length of zero seconds with the lens cap on or the shutter closed and no light reaching the sensor. This frame shows the electronic noise in the...

A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...

The simplest, most inexpensive type of camera, which is shaped as an oblong or square box, containing the simplest lens, shutter and viewfinder, as well as the most elementary means of registering...

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 standard lens interface initially made for 16mm movie cameras and now used primarily on closed-circuit television cameras. It is a 1-in.-diameter, 32-thread-per-inch interface with a...

A forerunner of the modern camera, this instrument had a focusable lens that produced a sharp image on the enclosure opposite the aperture but had no photosensitive material to record it.

An apparatus, designed for use with a camera, that is used to rapidly open the path from lens to film, to maintain the opening throughout exposure and to close the opening in rapid succession. The...

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 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,...

That viewpoint at which the angular subtenses of points in the picture are identical to angular subtenses of the original points in the scene, at the camera lens.

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...

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...

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly semiconductor devices like microprocessors, memory chips, and image...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

A fast, wide-angle lens used in television and photographic cameras, with excellent overall correction, but subject to residual oblique spherical aberration.

The photographic recording of images produced by the electrons from an electron microscope. The electron beam carries the images through an array of three lenses, and an enlarged electron image is...

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...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers, interferometers, and cameras. It is characterized by the appearance of interference...

An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to capture visual information in a highly efficient and unique way compared to...

An instrument used to measure the light from a scene to be photographed and to indicate the camera lens and shutter settings required to expose the film correctly. The exposure time required in a...

The site behind the lens system in a camera where photographic media are positioned for exposure.

A camera with a very high aperture lens or mirror system for photographing x-ray fluorescent screen images, mainly to save the cost of large pieces of 11 x 14-in. film. The film may be 4 x 5-in. cut...

A lens having an extremely high aperture and used in the recording of x-ray fluorescent screen images. It often is specially designed for the camera, the color of the light and the image...

1. The focal point. 2. To adjust the eyepiece or objective of a telescope so that the image is clearly seen by the observer. 3. To adjust the camera lens, plate, or film holder so that the image is...

Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes, such as spheres or aspheres. Unlike standard optical components with...

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin piece of transparent material, typically plastic or glass. This design...

A camera designed to record at rates exceeding 50 fps. For frame rates up to about 500 fps, an ordinary pull-down mechanism can be used. From 500 to 1000 fps, the film must be moved continuously, the...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

That object distance at which a camera must be focused so that the far depth of field just extends to infinity. The near limit of the depth of field is then half the hyperfocal distance. For normal...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...