Photonics Dictionary

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a cubic arrangement of oxygen ions, forming a framework within which other...

In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that treats each pixel in terms of its relationship to adjacent pixels. Perceived brightness trends facilitate spatial filtering.

A lens made from transparent plastic material. Lenses over 31/2 in. in diameter are usually machined, ground and polished. Smaller lenses are usually injection molded, the mount surrounding the lens...

In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that transforms pixel brightness and contrast through use of a mapping function. Point processing can be single-image (simple contrast...

The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the atomic and subatomic scales. It originates from quantum theory, a branch of...

1. In optics, the ability of a lens system to reproduce the points, lines and surfaces in an object as separate entities in the image. 2. The minimum adjustment increment effectively achievable by a...

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It operates based on the Sagnac effect, which is a fundamental principle of...

Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with rolling shutter sensors. A rolling shutter is a type of image sensor that...

Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed for scientific and industrial imaging applications. Unlike traditional...

A type of motion-picture camera in which single frames are photographed either automatically at a predetermined rate (as slow as one frame per minute or hour), or whenever the operator presses a key....

A camera with two taking lenses and synchronized shutters. Two images are recorded simultaneously on separate frames, producing a three-dimensional image when viewed through the proper apparatus.

A motion-picture camera that can be advanced one frame at a time, either randomly or at set intervals. Used in animation and time-lapse photography.

A high-speed cine camera used to record, on a continuously moving film, very brief events such as a flash of light. The image is recorded as a continuous image, not as a series of individual frames.

A method of scanning in which a frame transfer device produces a continuous video image of a moving object by means of a stack of linear arrays aligned with and synchronized to the movement of the...

A cine camera that exposes a series of individual frames to record the changes in a subject that slowly alters with time. This results in the eventual showing of an event that happened over an...

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, crumpling, and bending, but not tearing or gluing....

A traveling wave tube (TWT) containing a photocathode and window that, receiving a laser beam, produces a modified photoelectric current that is accelerated and propagated into its helical frame.

Sets of lenses (positive, negative and cylindrical) usually mounted in circular rims suitable for slipping into trial spectacle frames. The individual lenses bear codes that state their power in...

Photographic recording of rapid events at a rate exceeding 106 frames per second.

A device that changes the number of lines per frame of a video image to adapt to a lower resolution format, either by deleting lines, compressing lines or by imaging only a part of the original...

A disc whose surface contains recorded digital data at high-packing densities arranged in concentric rings. The data, representing video frames, are both recorded and read by a laser beam.

A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to capture a broader field of view. Wide-angle lenses are characterized by their...