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40 terms
Photonics Dictionary: C
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crystal x
C x
crystal
A solid with a structure that exhibits a basically symmetrical and geometrical arrangement. A crystal may already possess this structure, or it may acquire it through mechanical means. More than 50...
crystal counter
An instrument that is used to detect high-energy particles by the pulse of the current formed when a particle passes through a normally insulating crystal to which a potential difference is applied.
crystal diamagnetism
The unusual and anisotropic diamagnetic quality observed in particular crystals such as those composed of bismuth.
crystal diode
A diode with a semiconducting material, such as germanium or silicon, for one electrode, and a fine wire "whisker'' which lies on the semiconductor, as the other electrode. The low capacitance...
crystal field
The electrostatic field acting locally within a crystal as a result of the microscopic arrangement of atoms and ions in the lattice.
crystal filter
A bandpass filter with piezoelectric crystal components for the passage or impedance of electrical signals of various frequencies.
crystal grating
A crystal that may serve as a diffraction grating if mounted effectively.
crystal laser
->
solid-state laser
A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...
crystal lattice
A regular, periodic, geometric array of points corresponding to the positions of the atoms in a perfect crystal.
crystal optics
The study of the transmission of radiant energy through crystals, especially anisotropic crystals, and their effects on polarization.
crystal oscillator
An oscillator that uses a piezoelectric crystal to control its frequency.
crystal oven
A temperature-controlled container used to stabilize the temperature and resonant frequency of a crystal found in a crystal-controlled oscillator.
crystal quartz
The naturally occurring crystalline form of silicon dioxide. It is slightly birefringent and exhibits rotary dispersion of light rays transmitted along the crystal axis, both right-hand and left-hand...
crystal spectrograph
A system that applies a crystal as a diffracting agent to photograph the spectrum.
crystal spectrometer
A device designed to measure crystal properties by analysis of crystal diffraction.
crystall
crystalline
crystalline axes
The axes of symmetry in a crystal structure. See also biaxial crystal; uniaxial crystal.
crystalline lens
The internal lens of the eye. It is semielastic to permit changes in its power when focusing on objects at near distances.
crystallite
A small region within a single crystal where the molecules form a perfect lattice.
crystallized glass
Glass of special composition that is melted, formed into desired shapes, and subjected to a high-temperature treatment in which the glass undergoes a stage of nucleic formation, and a second stage,...
crystallogram
The photographic record of the diffraction pattern formed when x-rays pass through a crystal.
crystallography
The analysis of the atomic structures within crystals by means of x-ray diffraction.
covalent crystal
A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these crystals classify them as semiconductors.
calcite
A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the hexagonal system of crystals. Its indices are e = 1.486, w = 1.658; its...
calcite interference microscope
A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference beams so that, by suitable orientation of an anisotropic crystal, the optical...
calcium tungstate
White, tetragonal crystals used in the production of luminous coatings.
cesium chloride
Colorless crystals used in photoelectric cells and for photosensitive material in cathodes.
chalcogenide
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...
cholesteric phase
The state of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are arranged in layers with their long axes in the plane of each layer. The alignment in each layer is parallel and the alignment in adjacent...
cleavage planes
Naturally occurring planes in crystalline substances that provide easy points for separation.
color center
A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of crystallographic defect in a crystalline structure that introduces color to the...
computer polarization holography
A technique used to store wavefront information on thin polarization information-recordable materials by controlling the polarization angle of a small illuminating spotlight in each sampling cell on...
computer-generated hologram
A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...
conic refraction
The dispersion of a light ray striking the surface of a biaxial crystal, in which the resulting rays are reflected in a conical manner.
conjugator
->
phase conjugation
The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols, semiconductor crystals and plasmas, to replicate a laser beam by reversing...
conoscope
An optical instrument, generally a polarizing microscope, that is used to determine the interference figures and optical axis of a sample crystal. Also called a hodoscope.
CR
cathode ray; command register; control relay; coupling ratio; crystal rectifier
cryst
crystal
cylindrical lens
A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape resembling a cylinder. Unlike spherical lenses, which have the same...
Czochralski technique
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.
Photonics Dictionary
C
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