Photonics Dictionary

Optical surface damage due to abrasive rubbing. Abrasion damage affects are less than the thickness of the optical coating layers. Surface investigation may be achieved by aluminization of the coated...

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of atmospheric distortions. The Earth's atmosphere can cause light passing through it...

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...

A beamsplitter is an optical device used to divide a beam of light into two or more separate beams, typically by reflecting a portion of the incident light while transmitting the remainder....

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...

For an optical table, the amount of displacement that occurs when a heavy load is placed or moved on the surface. To measure deflection under static load, a 113-kg (250 lb) weight is placed in the...

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...

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties of materials, particularly in the field of spectroscopy. Unlike traditional...

Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the measurement of changes in the polarization state of light reflected or...

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...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers, interferometers, and cameras. It is characterized by the appearance of interference...

Coating carried out in a sealed chamber evacuated by a mechanical pump in series with an oil diffusion pump to a pressure less than 10-4 mm of mercury, measured by a vacuum gauge. At such a low...

The angle measured between the focal surface containing the image and a plane normal to the optical axis.

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...

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the infrared radiation emitted by objects, revealing temperature variations across...

An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a length in terms of the length of a wave of light by using interference...

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams of light. Interferometry is a technique that combines and analyzes...

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance, quality, and characteristics of lenses. These instruments are essential for...

The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of microscopic optical densities (i.e. optical absorption) by detection of faint...

An instrument capable of measuring the transmitted or reflected luminance from a very small area seen under a microscope. Microphotometers are the fundamental tools of microphotometry and are also...

The observation and measurement of the flatness of a mirror surface by contacting an optical flat with the mirror. The process generally is done before coating so as not to damage the delicate coated...

A support for optical parts comprising a solid bed that permits precise longitudinal movement of one component relative to the others, and a number of sliders equipped with holders for lenses, lamps,...

A device used to detect and measure small amounts of rotation. The rotating object contains a reflecting surface from which a beam of light is reflected onto a positional detector. A large distance...

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to millimeter-scale step heights. A standard arrangement includes an illumination source,...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics laboratories for mounting and aligning optical components. These tables provide a...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and its manifestation as both particle and wave phenomena. It encompasses the...

A method for obtaining the optical absorption spectra of solids, semisolids, liquids and gases. PAS is inherently insensitive to reflection or scattering from the sample, analyzes opaque samples and...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors. It is a type of distortion that can occur when the surface of a mirror...

Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly parallel to the direction from which it originated. This occurs due to the...

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...