Photonics Dictionary: C

The use of phase conjugation or other methods to increase the power density of a laser beam under adverse atmospheric conditions.

A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical instruments to determine pulse code, repetition frequency and wavelength.

An infrared detector that achieves a specified sensitivity through the application of certain cryogenic temperatures.

A technique for measuring fiber attenuation or distortion by performing two transmission measurements. One is at the output end of the full length of the fiber. The other is within 1 to 3 m of the...

Popular process for silicon and polycrystalline production that consists of an alteration of the original state of a substance; thus, single-crystal materials can be used to form a polycrystal.

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems. These indicators are commonly used in various fields, including cell...

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications to monitor air exchange in the lungs of patients on ventilators or under...

In analysis, the carbon layer that is evaporation-deposited on a specimen to protect and ready it for study by electron microscopy.

A system that generally uses a photodetector to decode punched cards for information, or for input to a computer, by sensing the light transmitted through the punched holes.

The ratio of the power of the carrier wave to that of unwanted signal distortions, or noise, before any nonlinear signal processing such as detection or amplitude limiting.

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged conductive surfaces. This force arises from the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...

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...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

An adaptation by Philips and Sony of their audio compact disc technology for optical disc data storage and retrieval. Current capacity of a disc is 0.5 to 0.6 gigabytes of information.

A technical specification for a consumer product drawn up by Sony and Philips. CD/I combines audio, video and text recorded as interleaved channels on a disc similar to an audio compact disc. The...

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

An instrument that detects high-energy charged particles by analysis of the Cerenkov radiation that they emit.

A photoemissive detector sensitive to wavelengths up to 1 µm. It has one sharp maximum of sensitivity at 350 nm and a broad maximum at 800 nm.

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...

A photoelectric detector consisting of a glass tube internally coated with a low conductance material. Voltage applied along the tube causes photoemission from the photocathode at the end of the tube...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a semiconductor material. Charge-coupled devices are a specific implementation of this...

A light-sensitive detector having a chemical compound that reacts when exposed to light. It is used in photochemistry and relies on the chemical reaction to determine the amount of incident radiation.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

A technique of using dyes during endoscopy to improve tissue differentiation. Dyes such as methylene blue, Toluidine blue and Lugol's solution all have the ability to stain particular types of cells....

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

The technique of making motion pictures.

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

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...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS bio-optical sensor with LEDs as the optical excitation source to achieve...

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...

A jet of inert gas along a laser welding beam's axis that cools, protects or cleans the work surface.

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of the beam. It also is used in infrared detectors to scan the object field...

A technique whereby two laser beams, one at an excitation wavelength and the second at a wavelength that produces Stokes Raman scattering, interact coherently in a sample, producing a strong...