Photonics Dictionary

The transparent fluid that fills the portion of the eye between the cornea and the eye lens (the anterior chamber).

The term used in reference to vacuum systems using oil and diffusion pumps, describes the migration of pump fluids and their decomposition products into the vacuum chamber.

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein, who independently predicted the...

The behavior of microscopic solid particles suspended in a fluid, first observed by botanist Robert Brown in 1827 as a continuous random motion.

The measure used in vacuum technology to quantify the total pressure capacity of the ferrofluidic seal before it fails.

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS bio-optical sensor with LEDs as the optical excitation source to achieve...

A liquid, usually of a specific refractive index and dispersion, serving as an interface between two solids to form a complete light transmission system.

A fluid used to decrease the temperature rise produced by friction or other causes.

In microscopy, the chamber that is contained on a microscope slide to hold a certain amount of fluid. It is calibrated accurately to determine the number of cells and other elements while the...

Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to assist clients in various aspects of product development, system design, or...

A laser having a rod that is a stacked array of discs immersed in a transparent flowing coolant fluid. In this way, the cooling rate is increased, the temperature gradients are basically parallel to...

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

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...

In various fields such as fluid dynamics, microfluidics, and biotechnology, a flow channel refers to a defined pathway through which a fluid (liquid or gas) flows. The channel can be of various...

Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a continuous stream of fluids (liquids or gases) rather than in batch...

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...

A flowmeter is a device used to measure the flow rate or quantity of a fluid passing through a particular point in a system. It works by sensing the velocity of the fluid passing through it and...

Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is typically measured in frames per second (fps) and determines the smoothness and...

A type of cooling system in which one fluid is used to carry heat off another without direct contact between the two.

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device designed to capture fast-moving events or phenomena at extremely high frame rates....

A cryogenic cooler device that is an intermittent Joule-Thomson refrigerator with a passive radiator serving as the precooler. Used for satellite applications, the device has Joule-Thomson and gas...

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single, compact chip. Also known as microfluidic devices, lab-on-a-chip systems are...

The process by which laser emission is used in measuring fluid velocity and, more specifically, the detection of air and wind velocity.The laser technique measures the amount of frequency shift...

A moving group of fluid-suspended biological species directed through separate channels by which the population is isolated. The isolated or purified group is observed by applying a laser detection...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the body, particularly in the urinary and biliary systems. The term "lithotripsy"...

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In a liquid crystal, the molecules are ordered like those in a...

Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a fine layer of hydrophobic powder, such as silica nanoparticles or Teflon....

Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the surface of substrates, typically silicon wafers. It involves the transfer of...

A fluid having three components: a carrier fluid, magnetite particles suspended by Brownian motion and a stabilizer to prevent agglomeration of these fine particles. A magnetic fluid is characterized...

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically in the microliter (10-6 liters) to picoliter (10-12 liters) range, within...

The liquid used in microscopy to fill the space between the high-power objective lens and the microscope slide in order to increase the numerical aperture (NA) or collecting power in object space of...

Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer scale. This technology enables the positioning of objects with extremely high...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems that integrate the manipulation of light and fluids. This field focuses on...

An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists, primary care physicians, and pediatricians, to examine the ear canal and...

Spectroscopy used to study the concentration, diffusion and Brownian motion of small particles suspended in a fluid by measuring dynamic fluctuations of light that is scattered or fluoresced by the...

A mixture of ionized gas and metal vapor generated by impingement of the laser beam onto a material being welded or a weld joint. The plume causes absorption and/or scattering of the incident laser...

Interruption in the normal flow of a plasma or fluid characterized by sharp rises in velocity, temperature and pressure. As the shock passes into a gaseous compound, gas particles are heated and...

A gelatinous fluid that can be used as a porous thin-film coating for optical components, including laser beam collimators, or as a protective coating for glass and crystalline materials.

An analytical technique used to determine, identify and localize impending malfunctions. It is based upon quantitative and qualitative measurement of submicroscopic particles suspended in lubricating...

Light from a pulsed laser focused into nonsaturable absorbing fluid that generates a strongly backscattered light beam with a frequency higher than that of the incident light.

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These particles can include sediment, silt, clay, plankton, and other microscopic...

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid.

The transparent fluid that fills the portion of the eye between the eye lens and the retina (the posterior chamber).

Fluid used to aid in examination of semifinished blanks.