Photonics Dictionary: N

A unit of length in the metric system equal to 10-9 meters. It formerly was called a millimicron.

A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into a detector. It can be reduced by low-reflective coatings or by altering the...

An imaging system designed to highlight small deviations in a planar reflective object such as a mirror. The system can be used to detect minute flaws or to image faint marks that are made in the...

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum....

Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and functioning of the human brain and nervous system. The term is derived from...

In a thermal imaging system, the change in temperature that yields a signal-to-noise ratio of unity.

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a material and induces nonlinear responses. In contrast to linear optics, where...

Nonlinear polarization refers to the phenomenon where the polarization of a material responds nonlinearly to an applied electric field. In linear systems, the polarization of a material is directly...