Photonics Dictionary: C

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...

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also outside vapor-phase oxidation; inside vapor-phase oxidation.

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,...

An analog signal capable of being modulated as to frequency, amplitude or phase to carry information.

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 creation of a diode laser structure by liquid-phase epitaxy over a grooved substrate.

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...

The chemical method of separating compounds dissolved in one phase (usually mobile) through its equilibration with a second phase (usually stationary). The mechanism of separation may involve...

A light beam whose electric vectors can be broken into two perpendicular elements that have equal amplitudes and that differ in phase by l/4 wavelength.

A closed-loop system that compensates for thermal blooming by optimizing only one parameter: the amplitude of the phase correction.

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...

A light source that is capable of producing radiation with waves vibrating in phase. The laser is an example of a coherent light source.

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

Radiation in which the phase relationship between any two points in the radiation field has a constant difference, or is exactly the same in either the spatial or the temporal mode throughout the...

Electronic circuit capable of distinguishing the pulses emitted by separate counters in a given time phase and determining whether the pulses were emitted by the same particle or correspond to a...

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to nanokelvin (nK) range, close to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C). At...

The chromatography method in which the stationary phase is supported in or on an inert packing in a column, through which the mobile phase passes.

An optical element that measures the phase difference between two components of elliptically polarized light to correct for mechanical or optical displacement.

The use of computer analysis in the calculation of diffraction patterns for information on the design of optical systems. In this method, the electric field amplitude and phase in the aperture are...

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...

A phase reflection scanner that eliminates the need for a complex translation device while maintaining a high-energy-density level during laser materials processing. These devices direct and focus...

Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In various contexts, the term is used to describe continuous, uninterrupted...

One area of image enhancement, accomplished by spatial filtering schemes, that usually involves attenuation of phase changes in the complex amplitude over a limited region of the Fourier spectrum of...

Relative to the Cotton-Mouton effect, the magnetic birefringence constant that, when multiplied by pathlength and the square of the magnetic field strength, yields the phase difference between the...

A coverslip, also known as a cover glass or cover slip, is a thin and flat piece of transparent material typically made of glass or plastic. It is used in microscopy to cover a specimen mounted on a...