Photonics Dictionary: D

An accurate cathode-ray tube display used to provide visual representation stored in a computer for the interpretation and evaluation of the data.

A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are served with the same multiplexed signal.

A method of storing digital data using techniques that consume less memory space than basic methods do. See differential pulse code modulation; run end coding; run length coding.

A multidimensional array of values that is commonly used in programming to describe a time series of image data. Each dimension in the data cube represents a new attribute, while the cells of the...

The communications network between nodes of a data transmission system.

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that involves the use of artificial neural networks to model and solve complex problems. The term "deep" in deep learning refers to the use of deep...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format. Each element within the array is capable of detecting electromagnetic...

A method of coding image data by storing in memory only differences in brightness of each pixel from that of its nearest horizontal neighbors: that is, it is the change in brightness rather than the...

Denoting the use of binary notation; i.e., the representation of data by bits (1 or 0).

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This digital replica is created using real-time data and simulation models, allowing...

A step-by-step method of reducing the amount of data in a digital video signal to transmit or store a high-quality image. The digitized picture is analyzed, and fine detail and redundant pixels,...

In image processing, a device that transforms the digital data into an analog video image that can be viewed on a monitor or printed.

A write-once optical disc storage system in which the optical head reads continuously while writing to check the accuracy of the stored data. Data recorded erroneously are then rewritten at another...

A mathematical transformation used in image and video compression that changes two-dimensional representation of data into data defined by the frequency content. Adapted in JPEG and MPEG standards.

The observable illustration of an image, scene or data on a screen such as a console or cathode-ray tube, seen as a graph, report or drawing.

A visual display used with a computer to give access to the many elements of data as an array of points. With the display console, an operator may check information in the computer and change it if...

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth light with precise control over the wavelength. It achieves this through a...

A mode of laser printing in which each pixel is printed four times, providing sharper lines and a continuous tone from one-quarter the amount of image data, compared with single-raster output.

A laser that sends data from the source to the distribution node.

The hardware for reading (and writing in devices so equipped) an optical mass data storage disk.

Spectrophotometry in which radiation of two separate wavelengths, usually one in an absorption band and the other not, pass through the specimen. The resulting data allows correction for attenuation...

In data communications, the simultaneous operation of a circuit in both directions is known as full duplex; if only one transmitter can send at a time, the system is called half duplex.

A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a different wavelength of laser light. To record data, the lower layer is heated by...