Photonics Dictionary

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials science, and biology. It is a type of scanning probe microscope that...

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...

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to nanokelvin (nK) range, close to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C). At...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of breaking up and forming isolated droplets on a substrate. This occurs due...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

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...

A common form of high-precision, ceramic-based actuator capable of moving and measuring at the nanometer level.

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...

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...

A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally consists of a gated pulsed flashlamp or a cavity dumped dye laser...

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of fluorescence emissions from fluorophores within a sample. Unlike traditional...

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced fluorescent molecules. This phenomenon is named after the German scientist...

Molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid or tube. Also called buckyballs. Cylindrical fullerenes are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes.

High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous medium, typically an atom or a molecule, to produce harmonics of the...

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....

An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. InGaAs is a semiconductor material that is...

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...

In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or nanoscopic scale. These optical lattices can be created using various techniques...

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to accurately move and position objects along a linear axis. These stages are...

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...

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...

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...

Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other...

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or meta-elements, arranged in a specific pattern to manipulate the propagation of...

Former name of the nanometer, 10-9 m.

A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can convert light energy into mechanical motion at the molecular level. These...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a high-resolution, high-throughput process that involves the mechanical...

A unit of length in the metric system equal to 10-9 meters. It formerly was called a millimicron.

Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at dimensions smaller than the wavelength of light. It involves the study and...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The near-infrared spectrum typically extends from about 700...

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum to study the absorption of light by molecules in a sample....

A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom adjacent to a vacancy (an empty lattice site) in the diamond...

An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic radiation in the optical or ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum....

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

Photoluminescence is a phenomenon in which a material absorbs photons (light) at one wavelength and then re-emits photons at a longer wavelength. This process occurs when electrons in the material...

Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or displacement. Piezoelectric materials exhibit the piezoelectric effect, which...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...

A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial dimension. This confinement leads to quantized energy levels, creating a...

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications due to its exceptional optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Sapphire...

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials characterization, and various industrial applications. Unlike traditional optical...

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the surfaces of solid specimens. SEM achieves this by...

Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between 1,000 and 3,000 nanometers (nm). In the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared...

An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation. Single-molecule spectroscopy (SMS) can image at subwavelength scales, down to a...

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an advanced optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the resolution of images beyond the diffraction limit imposed by traditional light...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of molecules adsorbed on or near certain nanostructured surfaces. Raman...

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy with the enhancement provided by nanostructured metallic surfaces. Raman...