Photonics Dictionary: I

An intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) camera is an advanced imaging device that combines the capabilities of both an image intensifier and a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor to achieve...

A CCD image sensor that uses a proximity-focused image intensifier to provide greater sensitivity at low light levels.

A standard direct-readout vidicon tube linked by fiber optics to an intensifier for increased sensitivity.

A theoretical instrument conceived of as a box that receives a beam of radiation of any arbitrary polarization angle and produces a new beam, coaxial with the incident beam, having a specified new...

Source of radiation defined or specified by its spectral power distribution.

Also referred to as image visibility, the contrast of an image is the variation in the intensity of an image formed by an optical system, where the image pixels are defined on a gray scale scheme of...

A camera that uses an image converter tube in such a way that voltage waveforms applied to internal electrodes cause the original image to be switched on and off very rapidly, thus offering time...

Complex devices, often involving a computer, in which a photograph is scanned by a point of light, the amplitude of the electrical signal being modified electronically before being recorded on...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized electronic device used to amplify low-light-level images to make them visible to...

A type of electroluminescent display that will record and maintain an irradiated image on its phosphor screen, provided a DC potential is applied to the screen. Used to record x-ray images, the...

An eyepiece having a special prism arrangement linked to a micrometer screw to allow reading of the angular relations between the two prism segments to be varied. When the prism faces are parallel,...

A modified form of an image-retaining panel that can be used in subdued daylight. This is achieved by adding a layer of zinc oxide between the panel's phosphor layer and its rear electrode. The zinc...

Complex devices, often involving a computer, in which a photograph is scanned by a point of light, the amplitude of the electrical signal being modified electronically before being re-recorded on...

Photogrammetric compensation for incidental camera movement (which prevents attainment of true vertical photographs) whereby the imagery is copied in an oblique plane camera system.

An oil required by oil-immersion objectives that is applied between the exterior of the objective lens and a cover glass or appropriate specimen.

In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it refers to experiments or procedures conducted outside of a living organism,...

Generally, a rotatable table with scales marked in degrees. The fiducial marking also may be a vernier scale. The same scheme is applied to linear movement. Such devices are often applied to...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...

Any object that emits radiation of a wavelength lying between about 0.75 to 1000 µm. A calibrated secondary source usually is a heated cavity (blackbody) or a filament lamp rated in wattage...

A semiconductor device with a semiconductor junction in which infrared radiant flux is nonthermally produced when a current flows as a result of applied voltage.

A method of producing high-quality plastic optics in large volumes by injecting the heated, liquified plastic at high pressure into a tooled mold with polished chromium stainless steel inserts to...

A method that produces low-loss optical fibers. A glass tube rotates while reactants pass through the tube and heat is externally applied by a burner that traverses the tube. The oxidizable vapors in...

A device, consisting of a diode activated by an interference pulse, that is designed to minimize the white spots on a television screen that are intensified by interference.

Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on the known face of a crystal and the...

Graphic representation of quantified values of image quality whose points all refer to images that are of a constant subjective quality.

A spectroscopic technique in which an excitation band absorbs laser energy resulting in an electronic transition. The isotopic species may then be measured using a time of flight mass spectrometer....