Photonics Dictionary

A semiconductor device that functions as an electrically controlled switch for AC loads.

An evacuated bulb containing a tungsten filament that is heated by passing an electric current through it. In domestic light bulbs the inside of the bulb is frosted to soften shadows. In projection...

A form of liquid crystal widely used in displays, achieved by sandwiching a liquid crystal material between two substrates whose inside surfaces have been prepared with a special coating that aligns...

A system used to measure very small displacement by electrical means.

A device that uses a piezoelectric crystal to convert ultrasonic sound waves, transmitted through a subject, into a voltage that modulates the electron beam of a cathode-ray tube.

A mechanical, electrical, thermal or optical detector designed to identify and measure ultrasonic radiation.

A piezoelectric transducer made of a thin strip of piezoelectric material bonded to a strip of metal.

Refers to the transistors in which the working current flows through only one type of semiconductor material, either P-type or N-type. In unipolar transistors, the working current consists of either...

A phototube that functions within a vacuum and thus eliminates the effects of gaseous ionization on its electrical properties.

A laser that has a surface-emitting semiconductor gain element coupled to an external mirror designed to complete the laser resonator. VECSELs can be electrically or optically pumped. The extended...

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.

An electric cell having two electrodes of unlike metals immersed in a solution that chemically affects one or both of them, thus producing an electromotive force.

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...

A waveguide is a physical structure or device that is designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, microwaves, or light waves. It is commonly used in communication...

After putting a thick photographic emulsion on a front-faced mirror, and exposing the emulsion to monochromatic incident light normal to the face, Wiener discovered, upon developing the emulsion,...

The arc formed when the rare gas xenon is excited electrically and emits a brilliant white light. Xenon is used to fill electronic and stroboscopic flashlamps, and also large discharge tubes for...