Photonics Dictionary: C

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...

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...

The number of channels per unit bandwidth handled by a single optical fiber.

The angle at which a given mode propagates down an optical fiber.

1. A localized fracture at the end of a cleaved optical fiber or on a glass surface. 2. An integrated circuit.

A laser whose pulses are expanded, using gratings and optical fibers, before amplification and compressed to increase beam intensity without damage to the optical train.

A small fiber optic endoscope used in laser surgery.

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...

In fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the fiber.

A mechanism or device, especially a coating with a refractive index equal to or slightly greater than that of an optical fiber's cladding, that removes modes propagating through the cladding by...

A ray that is reflected into the core of an optical fiber from the outer surface of the cladding.

A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser produces an optical wave that is modulated in amplitude, phase or frequency by...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers arranged in a specific geometric pattern to maintain the spatial coherence of...

The process of linking optical fiber end to end.

The distance between the center of the two concentric circles of an optical fiber that designate the diameter of the cladding and the center of the two concentric circles that designate the diameter...

Energy loss encountered at connectors in optical fiber transmission systems. The major contributors are mutual core displacement and fiber axis tilt. It is observed in both permanent splices and...

The light-conducting portion of an optical fiber, defined by the region of high refractive index.

A semispherical or conical lens created directly on the core of an optical fiber to focus light from a laser into the fiber core.

The fraction of available output from a radiant source that is coupled and transmitted by an optical fiber.

The physical limit of an optical fiber or cable to withstand an applied force or weight perpendicular to the axis of the fiber.

1. In detector technology, the long wavelength at which detector response falls to a set percentage (usually 20 or 50 percent). 2. In fiber optics, the shortest wavelength at which a fiber transmits...