Photonics Dictionary

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

A lens aberration, resulting from different magnifications in the various lens zones, that occurs in that part of the image field that is some distance from the principal axis of the system....

The heat-treating method in which the index of refraction of glass is fixed near or at its maximum value by holding the glass for different periods at suitable degrees of heat below the range of...

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...

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision machining tools to remove material from a workpiece. In CNC grinding, a...

A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator configuration used in laser systems. The term confocal in this context refers to the...

Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a device that can be connected and disconnected repeatedly.

The simplest lens in which all primary aberrations may be corrected. It consists of two positive crown elements on either side of, and spaced away from, a negative flint element.

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

A compound prism formed by cementing together two 30° prisms, one of right-handed and one of left-handed quartz. It has good ultraviolet-transmitting qualities and no double refraction.

In rangefinders and height finders, a rotatable or sliding wedge-shaped element used to divert the line of sight precisely to correct errors in the optical system.

Illumination in which the light source is imaged at the object.

A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are typically used for scientific research, technology demonstration, educational...

A lens aberration that causes a flat object surface to be imaged onto a curved surface rather than a plane.

A lens aberration in which the focal length varies radially outward from the center of the field. It has the effect of making a straight tangential line in the object appear curved in the image,...

A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are served with the same multiplexed signal.

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...

The number of unique ways in which a part can move in an alignment system. In static alignment, there are six: one in the direction of and one in rotation about each of the X, Y and Z axes. In...

The distance, on either side of the object plane focused on, through which satisfactory image definition can be obtained. For the special case of an imaging system with lens axis perpindicular to the...

The range of image distances that corresponds to the range of object distances covered by the depth of field.

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments, particularly in the field of infrared spectroscopy or other applications...

As a wavefront of light passes by an opaque edge or through an opening, secondary weaker wavefronts are generated, apparently originating at that edge. These secondary wavefronts will interfere with...

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...

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...

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images of objects. This method...

An assembly of multiple prisms that disperses incident light into its spectral components without deviating light at the central wavelength.

A colorimeter using a spinning disc made of different colored sections for colorimetric analysis.

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

A general-purpose lens, also known as the Celor lens, used widely in photography and commercial processing; it has the form of a triplet with a split flint element.

A single wavelength of light that matches the color of a given sample when combined in suitable proportions with white light and a suitable adjustment of intensity.

The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such as calcite, is placed between the eye and a pinhole in a card, two bright...

A method of fabricating an optical waveguide by melting the core and clad glasses in two suitably joined concentric crucibles and then drawing a fiber from the combined melted glass.

A fast, wide-angle lens used in television and photographic cameras, with excellent overall correction, but subject to residual oblique spherical aberration.

A form of prism invented by H.W. Dove. It resembles half of a common right-angle prism in which a ray entering parallel to the hypotenuse face is reflected internally at that face and emerges...

An optical system having two sets of components separated by an air space, while successive lenses in each set are cemented together.