Photonics Dictionary: T

A waveguide having a characteristic that is altered continuously with the distance traveled, relative to the axis of its path.

A glass that is heated, then chilled (usually by an air blast) to set up internal stresses so that the surfaces are under compression. This strengthens the glass, since glass breaks only in tension,...

A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared radiation emitted by objects due to their temperature. Unlike traditional...

Oscillator device composed of a semiconducting diode in a coaxial resonating cavity. When the biasing current is applied to the diode, high-frequency waves are emitted into the cavity where they are...

The equivalent f number of a fictitious lens that has a circular opening and 100 percent transmittance, which would give the same central illumination as the lens being considered: where...

1. The anode or anticathode of an x-ray tube that emits x-rays when bombarded by electrons. 2. The screen in a television imaging tube that is scanned by an electron beam to determine the...

States that in interferometers in which the separation of the maxima is equal to the half-value width, a slight drop in intensity between fringes is distinguishable and the fringes can be considered...

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small telescope, and a mirror in the focal plane reflects an internal illuminated surface...

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is typically a curved, transparent piece of glass or other optical material...

The material favored for study of interaction of high-acoustic intensities with free carriers. Tellurium is the semiconductor with the largest piezoelectric constants. Tellurium oxide is the material...

A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and differentiation of the data by simplified least squared procedures.

Electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between 300 GHz and 10 THz, and existing between regions of the electromagnetic spectrum that are typically classified as the far-infrared and microwave...

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz frequency range, typically spanning from about 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz),...

Terahertz (THz) refers to a unit of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum, denoting waves with frequencies between 0.1 and 10 terahertz. One terahertz is equivalent to one trillion hertz, or...

An optical matrix that does not require perfection in both states of the crosspoint, so that all the optical switches can be tap-off devices in which a fraction of the optical energy is transferred...

An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color indicating particular themes such as vegetation, cloud cover, temperature...

A precise telescope set on a pair of rotation axes, the horizontal and vertical axes equipped with two divided circles. One circle measures horizontal angles and the other measures vertical angles....

The process of producing a visible two-dimensional image of a scene that is dependent on differences in thermal or infrared radiation from the scene reaching the aperture of the imaging device.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces in contact. These materials are primarily employed in electronic devices,...

A term referring to various processes for forming visible images outside of a camera to be photographed on ordinary film. Unlike regular infrared photography, thermal photography is an indirect...

Also known as analog thermogram. The resultant photograph, illustrating, in tones ranging from black to white, the spatial relationship of the infrared radiation temperatures of the different details...

Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera, to detect and visualize the infrared radiation emitted by objects. This...

The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie temperature in regions of the image. The image is contacted with paramagnetic...

Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical, electrical, or mechanical properties. These coatings are composed of thin...

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto a substrate surface. This technique is commonly employed in various...

The scattering of electromagnetic waves by free electrons, whereby the incident radiation and the scattered radiation are of the same wavelength.

Integral densities that are measured relative to arbitrarily selected red, green and blue filters.

Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It is used in biological and medical research to capture high-resolution images...

A method of scanning in which a frame transfer device produces a continuous video image of a moving object by means of a stack of linear arrays aligned with and synchronized to the movement of the...

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the field of experimental physics, biophysics, and fluorescence lifetime imaging...

A cine camera that exposes a series of individual frames to record the changes in a subject that slowly alters with time. This results in the eventual showing of an event that happened over an...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT scans over time, allowing for the dynamic observation and monitoring of...

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial resolution provided by a sharp metallic or dielectric tip. TERS allows...

The use of a surgical laser instead of sutures or staples to close a wound or rejoin severed blood vessels.

A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The name Ti:sapphire comes from the combination of titanium (Ti) as the dopant...

The determination of the degree to which a manufactured component can deviate from its ideal specifications of material and geometry without impairing its performance.

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, crumpling, and bending, but not tearing or gluing....

Image displacement by a decentered lens, rotated on a chuck whose axis of rotation passes through the geometrical center of the rim of the lens, when the light source is at an infinite distance. It...