Photonics Dictionary

A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems that rely on the spot size of a laser beam that has propagated along an...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation of the electrical field of the target beam. This technique is also referred...

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a material and induces nonlinear responses. In contrast to linear optics, where...

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to simulate, model, analyze, and optimize the performance of optical systems and...

Optical strain sensors are devices that utilize optical principles to measure the deformation or strain experienced by a material under mechanical stress. These sensors convert changes in strain into...

One of a class of crystalline substances belonging to triclinic, monoclinic and orthorhombic systems that have two optic axes. Two polarizations are allowed for any given direction of propagation,...

A transparent crystalline substance that displays the same optical properties (i.e. refractive index) in all directions such that all light rays behave the same in all directions of propagation and...

A transparent crystalline substance in which the refractive index of the optic axis (extraordinary axis) is different from the other two crystal axes. Two polarization directions are allowed for any...

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...

The ray that has an isotropic speed and maintains a uniform polarization in all propagation directions when traveling in a doubly refracting (birefringent) crystal. It obeys Snell's law upon...

With respect to a traveling plane wave at a known frequency, the space rate of decrease of phase of a field component in the direction of propagation, measured in radians per unit length.

The propagation or hindrance of waves reaching each aperture of the interferometer because of atmospheric turbulence.

The term applied to the geometrical structure of radiometry or of the propagation of any quantity that is conversed and that travels in straight lines at velocities characteristic of the medium.

A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline lattice. In simpler terms, phonons are quanta of lattice vibrations in a solid...

A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of energy, each photon equals hn, h being Planck's constant and n, the frequency...

A photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) refers to a type of laser diode that emits light from its surface rather than from the edges. Photonic crystals are periodic nanostructures that...

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner analogous to how semiconductors control the flow of electrons. Photonic...

The branch of science that treats light as a wave phenomenon wherein light propagation is studied by wavefronts rather than rays, as in geometric optics.

A wave whose surfaces of constant phase are infinite parallel planes normal to the direction of propagation.

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

In remote sensing technology, this represents the intensity of energy flow in the direction of wave propagation.

Variations in a signal passing through an optical fiber caused by the effect on the pulse of the fiber's material and mode propagation characteristics.

Conceptual formulas that characterize both the transmittance functions of lenses and propagation in the Fresnel zone.

Having properties resembling those of light- waves; e.g., the propagation of waves in the television spectrum.

The emission and/or propagation of energy through space or through a medium in the form of either waves or corpuscular emission.

A wave that is polarized elliptically or circularly polarized and in which the electric field vector — observed while looking in the direction of propagation — rotates in a right-hand or...

Scalar diffraction theory is a simplified approach used to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly light, as they encounter obstacles or apertures. It is termed "scalar"...

The combination of two waves having the same frequency and amplitude and traveling in opposite directions. Standing waves are indicated by a stationary set of nodes spaced one-half wavelength apart...

Flux per unit solid angle and per unit area measured normal to the direction of propagation of the flux.

The effect that characterizes an intense laser beam that is passed through an absorbing medium, causing the absorbed energy to produce density changes that can alter the intensity distribution of the...

A two- or three-dimensional space grating formed when ultrasonic beams with varied paths of propagation intersect.

The frequency of a wave divided by its velocity of propagation; the reciprocal of the wavelength.

Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its propagation. To exploit the wave phenomena of light, one must interact light...

A device that consists of two types of mode converters, one of which must be magnetic. It is nonreciprocal because the coupling constants of the two mode converters have a different phase relation...

A waveguide is a physical structure or device that is designed to confine and guide electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, microwaves, or light waves. It is commonly used in communication...