Photonics Dictionary

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...

A group of lenses, or any combination of lenses, mirrors and prisms, so constructed as to refract or reflect light to perform some definite optical function.

A variable focal length lens system that retains the object in focus as one or more lenses move as a unit along its optical axis.

The system of color classification and description produced by Wilhelm Ostwald.

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

The arrangement of two Porro prisms so that the inverted image formed by certain types of optical instruments is the same as the object. The first prism, which is set at 90° to the second, inverts...

An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea which, when operated as a system, produce evidence, results or data...

A photographic camera and processing system used to form a usable record of the subject in a short time, usually a few seconds, for immediate analysis.

An optical system that is corrected for distortion and spherical aberration and therefore forms the image of a straight line as a straight line.

An imaging system that uses a mosaic of tiny light-sensitive semiconductors (phototransistors) to produce individual outputs that are then converted into a coherent video signal.

Two 30° prisms that are used to produce constant deviation when rotated by equal and opposite angles.

A controlled motion system that may use a telescope, camera or antenna to follow accurately a satellite, missile, vehicle or other device in response to radar, radio or computer signals.

A system that is complete and self-contained, needing no further additions to permit its operation.

A television system designed to obtain pictures of objects or scenes beneath the surface of the water. Generally, a low-light-level television camera and a suitable light source are enclosed in a...

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.

In the SI system, prefix meaning 10-18.

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to capture 3D holographic images of objects or scenes. Unlike conventional...

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...

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...

A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture detailed information about the shape, contour, or profile of an object in two...

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an ideal operating point, or the standoff distance, where its reflected spot is...

Image of a uniform source through the sample of a microscope image system. Light from the sample plane is reimaged by the objective into the image plane.

A form of roof prism used to invert an image. The prism has faces cut normal to the optical axis; therefore, the prism may be placed within the optical path of a system and invert the image without...

A departure from ideal paraxial imaging behavior. The distortion of an optical field wavefront as it is propagated through the elements of an optical system. The field distortion is due to the...

Designed for the function of optical wavefront analysis. Shack-Hartmann camera aberration sensors use a lens array to image the wavefront to the CCD image plane. Live feedback may be applied through...

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...

The range of angle or solid angle values by which light may enter an optical system.

An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon where different colors of light...

A system designed with a laser as a light source and a means for producing sound waves extending beyond 100 MHz to deflect light efficiently.

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate or control the intensity, frequency, phase, or direction of laser beams. It...

Discipline within optical physics that addresses sound vibration, phonon effects and their influencing behavior within optical elements and systems.

That point in the electromagnetic spectrum at which an optical system focuses the most chemically effective rays.

A material that produces stimulated emission during the process of amplification with a laser system.

Technology that corrects the shape of reflective optics; primarily applied in large telescope systems, in order to compensate for slowly varying changes in temperature, wind and mechanical stress.

1. Synonymous with radioactivity. The intensity of a radioactive source illustrated as the number of atoms disintegrating in unit time, or as the number of scintillations or other effects observed...

Spontaneous changes to the visual system making it more or less sensitive to light.

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...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional objects by adding material layer by layer. This is in contrast to...

A process during which no heat enters or leaves the system.

Photographing of terrain on the ground and objects in the air by cameras mounted in aircraft; utilized in satellites, multispectral scanning and intricate data handling systems.

The use of optical or electronic recording systems to extract information from the terrain, while aloft, for reconnaissance applications.

A two-phase system consisting of dispersed liquid or solid particles in a gas; examples include dust, smoke and clouds.

An optical system with object and image points at infinity. Literally, "without a focal length."

That image remaining on the detector after the primary stimulus has been removed. In the visual system, the after-image commonly appears as the complementary color of the primary stimulus.

The central peak (including everything interior to the first zero or dark ring) of the focal diffraction pattern of a uniformly irradiated, aberration-free circular optical element or system.