Photonics Dictionary: C

In analysis, a reference spectrum, having predetermined wavelengths, that is used to determine the wavelengths of another spectrum through comparison of the two.

The radiation spectrum of matter found in condensed states, liquid or solid, that is continuous and not a line spectrum. The details of this spectrum are almost independent of the matter emitting the...

The three lines in the spectrum of cadmium that have the purest radiations and that were first used by Michelson to calculate the standard meter.

The narrowest line of the cadmium spectrum; the red line has the purest radiation.

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...

A photocathode that exhibits maximum sensitivity in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. The sensitivity is obtained by the exposure of a thin layer of antimony to cesium vapor at an...

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...

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 photometer that uses a set of color filters to measure the intensity of light in various regions of the spectrum.

Ratio, to the luminance of a test color, of the luminance of the spectrum color that matches the test color when mixed with white light.

A device used to project a reference spectrum next to a spectrum to be analyzed to provide visual comparison.

Also called complementary dominant wavelength. On a chromaticity diagram, the wavelength on the spectrum locus that lies on the same straight line as the achromatic point and the sample point for a...

A reflecting grating ruled on a concave spherical surface that not only disperses the light but focuses the spectrum. The great advantage of this grating lies in the fact that no separate collimating...

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...

A system that applies a crystal as a diffracting agent to photograph the spectrum.

An instrument designed to measure the proportion of light emitted by a source in the blue region of the spectrum.

The analysis of light in the blue region of the visible spectrum.