Photonics Dictionary: E

An electrically excited laser having carbon monoxide as the lasing material and in which lasing occurs in a partial inversion between adjacent, vibrational fields. Vibrational energy is cycled...

The use of a krypton laser system for the measurement of small molecules aligned by an electric field, by analyzing the absorption of linearly polarized light.

Any lamp whose emission of radiant energy is dependent upon the passage of an electrical current through the emissive medium.

A device that uses four electrodes set in an alternating positive-negative polarity series to focus the beams of charged particles employed in electron microscopes and particle accelerators.

The electric field associated with an electromagnetic wave and thus with a lightwave. The electric vector specifies the direction and amplitude of this electric field.

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and argon lamps are examples of electric-discharge lamps.

Expression of the length of a transmission medium in terms of wavelengths of the propagating wavelength. In general, electrical length is an expression of physical length in wavelengths, radians or...

The ejection of electrons from the surface of a solid by the absorption of a sufficient amount of photons.

In photoelectric sensing, the portion of the transmitted beam that actually functions in the system; the diameter of the beam that determines the presence or absence of an object by being blocked or...

An electro-optic deflector is a device that can change the direction of light beams using an electric field. It operates based on the electro-optic effect, which involves the modulation of the...

A device that detects radiation by utilizing the influence of light in forming an electrical signal. It may be a phototube; a photoconductive, photovoltaic or photojunction cell; a phototransistor;...

The change in the refractive index of a material under the influence of an electrical field.

A material having refractive indices that can be altered by an applied electric field.

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

A transistor designed to respond to either light or electrical signals.

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by changing the refractive index of a light-propagating material; 2....

The study of the reversible conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. Electroplating is an electrochemical process.

An electrochemical process of metal fabrication using an electrolyte, an anode to supply the metal, and a control of the electrical current and of the deposit of metal on the matrix of a reflector.

A technology that uses electrically activated holograms stored within specially developed crystals to route information in the form of lightwave signals from one optical fiber to another within and...

The nonthermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance. The photon emission resulting from electron-hole recombination in a PN junction is one example. This is the...

The utilization of the light produced when electrical energy is directly converted into light within devices used for visual readout displays or as complex logic-circuit elements. With EL lighting,...

A panel of photoconductive and electroluminescent layers used as either a positive or negative image intensifier, depending on amplitude and phase of its two power supply voltages. The...

Conduction of an electric current through a chemical compound in its natural state, solution or as a molten, to decompose the compound.

Developing a photographic image by means of an applied electric field. The methods used include electrolysis and photoconductive systems.

A high-speed shutter, similar to a Kerr cell, that uses the birefringence produced in a liquid during the passage of an electric current through it to change the liquid's optical transmission...

An electron lens consisting of a homogeneous axial electric field and a magnetic field used in high-quality image tubes for high modulation transfer function and small geometrical distortion...

Radiation emitted from vibrating charged particles. A combination of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that propagates through otherwise empty space with the velocity of light. This constant...

The theory of propagation of energy by combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.

Wave of radiation identified by individual fluctuations of electric and magnetic fields.

An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a crystal lattice. Specifically, it refers to a collective excitation of spins and...

A type of modulation spectroscopy that measures spectral reflectance or transmittance changes induced by applying a perturbing electric field. It can be performed in contactless modes with no special...

An electrostatic device that uses an electric potential barrier to allow the transmittance of electrons at or above a set level of energy while stopping the passage of those below it.

An electric field produced to influence an electron stream much in the same manner that a lens affects a light beam.

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for low-light imaging applications that require high sensitivity and fast readout...

The control of free electron movement through the use of electrical or magnetic fields, and use of this electron movement in research investigation of electronic diffraction phenomena, directly...

The method by which photographic film is scanned by an electron beam. One technique uses the uniform light of a television screen, focused by a lens onto the processed film, as a means of creating a...

An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find applications in various fields, including cathode ray tubes (CRTs), electron...

The use of an electric field or signal to couple a lightwave from one dielectric waveguide into another dielectric waveguide.

That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of electrical energy flowing through gases, vacuums, semiconductors and conductors, not...

The movement of particles or ions in a solution toward the electrode having the opposite sign because of the application of an electrical field.

An electrophoretic display, often referred to as an electronic paper display or e-paper display, is a type of electronic visual display technology used in electronic devices for the purpose of...

The photographic recording of an image formed by the alteration in electrical properties of the sensitive materials and induced by the action of light.

A technique that uses the passage of an electrical current through a recording medium to produce a permanent image on that medium.