Photonics Dictionary

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...

Refers to micron-size complex machines that have physical dimensions suitable for the fabrication of optical switches for use in state-of-the-art communications networks.

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms, it measures acceleration. Accelerometers are widely used in various...

A light-harvesting protein found in the purple membrane of a micro-organism called Halobacterium halobium. The protein undergoes a photocycle that involves several binary photochemical reactions that...

A digitized image consisting of just two brightness levels, as black and white, represented in memory as zeros and ones.

In computer graphics, the assignment of each pixel on a display screen to its own switch in the computer memory.

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical parts on the supporting member; e.g., a block of lenses or block of prisms.

A portion of computer memory that is used for temporary storage of frequently accessed data. Substantially increases computer speed.

Primary image memory that is built into a digital camera and stores the digital images generated by the camera's image sensor. figure

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

An adaptation by Philips and Sony of their audio compact disc technology for optical disc data storage and retrieval. Current capacity of a disc is 0.5 to 0.6 gigabytes of information.

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

Computer hardware or firmware that accesses character patterns stored in read-only memory and displays them at specific coordinates on a screen.

A particle that will not normally diffuse through animal or vegetable membrane. Larger than most inorganic compounds, colloids will remain suspended indefinitely.

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly semiconductor devices like microprocessors, memory chips, and image...

A crimped metal cylinder that holds the connector to the cable through the cable's strength member.

A method of storing digital data using techniques that consume less memory space than basic methods do. See differential pulse code modulation; run end coding; run length coding.

A spatial light modulator consisting of a metallized polymer film stretched over an array of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Each mirror element in the film can be...

A device used to delay transmission of a signal for functions such as memory loops, sequential processing or built-in testing. The delay can be achieved by coiling long lengths of coaxial cable or...

A method of coding image data by storing in memory only differences in brightness of each pixel from that of its nearest horizontal neighbors: that is, it is the change in brightness rather than the...

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

A device that samples and quantizes a signal in digital form for storage in memory.

A method of erasable optical data storage in which information is stored by visible light, then read by illumination with an infrared source that returns trapped electrons to their ground state....

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or machines. Computer vision involves teaching machines to interpret and understand...

A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An infrared image is formed on the membrane by a lens or mirror and produces...

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which...

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they possess a permanent electric dipole moment even in the absence of an external...

A package for an optical fiber or fibers that may include cladding, buffering, strength members and an outer jacket.

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...

A powerful method, referred to as FCS, for determining the average diffusion coefficients of fluorescent molecules in solution or membranes. FCS measurements rely on recording the transition of...

Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for particular applications or purposes. These materials are designed and...

Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan surrounded by an outer membrane. This outer membrane contains lipopolysaccharides...

Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called peptidoglycan. This thick peptidoglycan layer retains a stain called crystal violet...

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....