Photonics Dictionary

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the purpose of efficient light transmission. In this configuration, the LED serves...

A method of terminating optical fibers by forming a lens directly on the end of the fiber, eliminating the need for precise end-to-end placement or epoxy sealing in fiber connections.

A wide-field multiobject spectroscopy system used in astronomy, in which a bundle of low-loss optical fibers positioned on the target images is rearranged at its other end into a linear array along...

An optical instrument consisting of an objective lens, a coherent (usually flexible) fiber bundle and an eyepiece to examine the output of the fiber bundle.

Optical fibers fused together to form a solid, vacuum-tight assembly in the form of a slab or rod. Discs or rectangular shapes having ground and polished surfaces perpendicular to the fiber lengths...

A type of optical fiber in which a silica core is surrounded by a hard polymer or similar material much stronger than the customary cladding material.

Optical fiber in which the attenuation exceeds the normally acceptable level for long-haul or data communications use.

Optical fiber with a large core, often a step-index fiber; "large'' is at times defined as greater than 85 µm.

Older fiber optic cable that may not be suitable for state-of-the-art applications and that is difficult for suppliers to sell.

Multimode straight fiber capable of transporting linearly polarized light with any incident polarization angle, and in which no form of internal stress can develop that could lead to birefringence.

Optical fiber that transmits a greater percentage of input light than does high-loss step-index fiber. Low-loss fiber requires higher purity materials and a more sophisticated drawing process and...

Fiber that emits luminescent radiation excited by ultraviolet, x-ray or high-energy particles.

Fiber optic cable bearing many fibers independently sheathed and capable of carrying unrelated signals. They often surround a central strength member, and can be either loose- or tight-buffered. One...

A fiber optic connector or splice that mates two multifiber cables, optically aligning all of the individual fibers simultaneously.

An array of optically distinct fibers that are fused into one strand. They are used to keep the resolution efficiency of the smaller, single fibers and eliminate difficulty in handling. Their...

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...

Fiber in which both core and cladding are made of plastic.

An optical waveguide having a silica core and a plastic cladding.

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

A flexible fiber cable with a small diameter that transports light from the excitation laser to the target. Used in Raman spectroscopy, the probe is capable of obtaining high-quality data at high...

Fiber optic cable in which the arrangement of fibers within the bundle has been made random so that output light will be uniformly distributed and not relay the image of the light source at the input...

An optical fiber in which ions of a rare-earth element, such as neodymium, erbium or holmium, have been incorporated into the glass core matrix, yielding high absorption with low loss in the visible...

A sequential scanning device, utilizing a revolving lens, in which the cathode-ray tube image is transformed into a circle of fibers. The rotating lens focuses each fiber successively on a multiplier...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is highly transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic...

Derived from "self-focusing,'' Nippon Sheet Glass Co. (NSG) of Japan's trade name for graded-index fiber rods with parabolic index profile, suitable for use as cylindrical microlenses.

An optical waveguide in which only the lowest order bound mode, which may consist of a pair of orthogonally polarized fields, can propagate at the wavelength of interest.

An optical fiber in which the core is of uniform refractive index.

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...

A fiber for which the difference between the maximum and the minimum refractive index is small, usually less than 1 percent.