Photonics Dictionary

Consists of a pair of radio telescopes concentrated on a single celestial object. This technique creates a single radio telescope with a diameter equal to the distance between the pair, which allows...

An image with variations in density due to the differential scattering ability of microscopic bubbles in a transparent layer.

Referring to the bandwidth and spectrum location of the signal produced by television or radar scanning.

A wideband amplifier used to process video or picture information.

A device, such as a thermionic or crystal diode, that is introduced into the vision channel of a television receiver to select the signal from the intermediate-frequency carrier.

A display standard no longer in use and originally defined for IBM PCs, with 640 3 480 pixels in 16 colors and a 4:3 aspect ratio. There is also a text mode with 720 3 400 pixels. The standard has...

A device that calibrates the size, position or distance of objects imaged on a video screen.

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...

The observation of specimens by a microscope linked to a television camera and an image processor.

Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of video cameras, lighting equipment, and audio recording devices to create...

A small television tube originally developed for closed-circuit television. It is about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches long. Its controls are relatively simple and can be operated by unskilled...

In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations of the clear apertures of elements within the system.

The product of the actual base or baseline of a rangefinder or heightfinder, and the power or magnification of the instrument.

Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological images and structures without the need for traditional physical slides and...

An image that is formed when rays emerging from an optical system are diverging from the optical axis. The virtual image is formed where the bundle of diverging rays appear to intersect each other...

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be interacted with and explored by an individual using electronic devices, such as a...

The use of miniature scanners to project raster-scanned video images directly onto the surface of the human retina, eliminating the need for a projection surface.

1. An instrument used to determine the visual range in an environment. 2. A type of photometer that artificially reduces an object's visibility to threshold limits and records the quantity of...

That region of the electromagnetic spectrum to which the retina is sensitive and by which the eye sees. It extends from about 400 to 750 nm in wavelength.

That term pertaining to the spectral region that can be perceived by the eye.

The numerical definition of the ability of an observer to perceive fine detail. The average value may be taken as one minute, or 6.7 cycles/mm, at 250 mm (normal viewing distance).

The angle subtended by an object at the point of observation.

A pair of stars (double star) that can be seen separately with a telescope, generally by setting a filar micrometer for the separation and position angle. Observation of visual binaries improves with...

The value of the expanse of b-particles in an absorber, evaluated by visual examination of breaks in the absorption curve.

An electron tube that stores and visually displays information by means of a cathode-ray-beam-scanning and charge-storage mechanism.

A series of high contrast block letters or similar objects arranged to permit the evaluation of eyesight in humans.

A visual system including a tiny television tube and imaging optics, all contained in a helmet to be worn by pilots in flight simulator training.

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

A blank area (caused by insufficient inking of the paper) that falls within the range of an intended character stroke in an optical character-recognition system.

A nondestructive testing method for very large scale integration circuits, using a scanning electron microscope to monitor changes in the electronic state of the chip as it is fed test voltages while...

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.

Volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) are specialized optical elements that consist of periodic variations in refractive index throughout the volume of a transparent material, typically a photosensitive glass...

A three-dimensional hologram.

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of space. Unlike traditional two-dimensional (2D) imaging, which provides...

A vortex phase plate is an optical device designed to impart a phase singularity, commonly referred to as a vortex or phase vortex, onto a light beam. This singularity results in a phase profile...

An element within a three-dimensional data set image.

A system used for gratings that consists of a concave mirror, a grating and a plate holder mounted normal to the grating to reduce astigmatism and spherical aberration. The mounting yields a...

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...