Photonics Dictionary

Also cellulose acetate film. The emulsion layer applied to the substrate of a photographic surface. The emulsion layer is composed of small particles suspended in gelatin solution.

The equation devised by Sir G.B. Airy for the analysis of light diffraction near a caustic surface: (d2f/dz2) - zf = 0 where z represents the independent variable, and f is the value of the function.

Also known as roof prism. A type of prism designed by G.B. Amici. It consists of a roof edge produced upon the long reflecting face of a right-angle prism. Used as an erecting system in elbow and...

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...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples. It is particularly useful for analyzing solid and liquid samples without...

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated graphics, images, or data, with the real-world environment in real-time. AR...

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the incident beam. This occurs when the incident radiation encounters a target or...

1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2. The curving of a path of light that passes close by a massive object, due...

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

Envelopes for cathode-ray tubes are made by blowing glass in the same manner as light bulbs. They have a fairly flat end face to carry the phosphor material applied internally.

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...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

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

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly extending appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a convex shape is...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate the construction of filters, resonators, beamsplitters and grating couplers...

Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These...

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the contrast of transparent...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel grooves or rulings. These rulings act as an array of closely spaced slits...

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

A diverging lens is a type of lens that causes parallel rays of light to spread out or diverge. It is thinner in the center than at the edges and is commonly referred to as a concave lens. The most...

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to control the behavior of colored oil droplets on a hydrophobic surface....

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific substances, such as antibodies, antigens, proteins, hormones, or other...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set parallel to one another by spacers so that lightwaves may bounce back and forth...

A means of determining a prism's index of refraction by placing the prism so that its emergent face is perpendicular to the incident beam. This arrangement permits the determination of the prism's...

1. One of the plane-reflecting surfaces on a multisurfaced polygon. 2. The cleaved end mirror of a laser diode's active region.

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...

A device used to prepare optical fiber end faces; a scribe line made by the cleaver's blade propagates across the fiber, resulting in a clean break.

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic communications to transmit and receive data over optical fibers. It integrates both a...

The distance between the surface of a ferrule and the surface of a fiber end, provided that the ferrule extends above the fiber end. If the fiber end extends above the ferrule surface, the difference...

Filoviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fevers in humans and non-human primates. The name "filovirus" is derived from their filamentous...

For a Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon, a value for the transmission bandwidth which can be calculated as the ratio of the free spectral range to the full width half maximum of the transmission...

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau interferometer is named after the French physicist Armand Fizeau, who...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of cells and particles suspended in a fluid. The method...

Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area. The specific meaning of fluence can vary depending on the context in which it...

The process whereby a rotating wheel carries grains of an abrasive, suspended in a vehicle, across the surface of the optical glass to be ground. The workpieces are forced downward by pneumatic...

Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive indices. This phenomenon was named after the French engineer and physicist...