A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or any other optical element, and they are created...

Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other...

Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...

A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...

Rayleigh scattering is a phenomenon that occurs when light waves interact with particles or molecules that are much smaller...

Illumination in which the light source is imaged at the object.

Description of an optical system in which all the elements are aligned on the same axis.

Rockwell hardness (Rc) refers to a method for measuring the hardness of a material, primarily metals, using an indentation...

The least space between two parallel lines that can be discriminated as a gap to the human eye. It is measured in terms of...

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical...

Second-order nonlinear optical properties refer to a class of phenomena exhibited by certain materials in response to...

1. The characteristic of how light propagates through a waveguide that can be designated by a radiation pattern in a plane...

The graph of a curve describing the spectral irradiance of extraterrestrial sunlight.

The term used in reference to vacuum systems using oil and diffusion pumps, describes the migration of pump fluids and their...

The process of perforating a silicon or ceramic substrate with a series of tiny holes along which it will break. Nd:YAG or...

The formula describing the spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody as a function of its temperature and the...

Oscillation in rod and disc amplifiers that critically limits the achievable energy storage.

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet...

Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or...

In astronomy, the relative brightness of a celestial body. Originally a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 represented the brightest...

Also known as the Wiener spectrum or the noise power spectrum, the optical power spectrum is a fundamental quantity in...

The chromatic resolving power of a prism is invariably stated for the case in which parallel rays of light are incident on...

A term used to describe a photograph, film or television picture where the values for black and white areas are at or near...

When a lens system with a circular aperture is free of aberrations, the image of a point object will appear as a disc of...

Scalar diffraction theory is a simplified approach used to describe the propagation of electromagnetic waves, particularly...

An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...

The breaking of the excess glass from the specified shape.

The fusion frequency of flicker that is needed just to produce complete fusion and to assure the visual sensation of...

Phenomenon caused by an ultrashort and ultra-intense light pulse propagating in a Kerr medium, such as air or water. When...

Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...

Pairs of color stimuli that exhibit metamerism as described by colorimetry. Also known as metameters.

The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given...

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is...

Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...

A term describing a substance that is impervious to light; the characteristic of a substance that has no luminous...

A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses...

The analysis of the properties of radiation, such as light, when acted upon by variations in the atmosphere. Blue and red...

Electric polarization characterized by homogeneous polar dielectrics and ascribed to the position of the permanent molecular...

The degree to which a vision system is capable of sensing differences in light intensity between two regions.

The perceptual term for that aspect of color described by words such as red, yellow or blue. Achromatic colors, such as...

Descriptive of the radiant power of visible light modified by the eye response. It is the measure of the flow of visible...

A term describing a type of scratch.

The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their...

A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light...

Hyperspectral resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in the spectral information captured by a...

An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and...

The law stating that the brightness of an object that is examined through a slotted disc, rotating over a critical...

A high-resolution spectroscopic device commonly used in the early 20th century as a component of double-beam...

Also known as cathode rays. Formerly, this term described a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a gas-discharge...

An astronomical mirror, also known as a telescope mirror or primary mirror, is a key component of a reflecting telescope. It...

Description of a particle that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.

Describing a laser in which the gas is permanently sealed within the tube.

An obsolete term once used to describe a unit of radiation dosage.

Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or...

Hydrophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or do not readily interact with water. The word...

The law stating that the critical fusion frequency is approximately proportional to the logarithm of the luminance and the...

A term used to describe a very coarse grinding process.

Describes devices that are not provided with a means of focusing.

A crimped metal cylinder that holds the connector to the cable through the cable's strength member.

A cosmic phenomenon in which the mass and density of a star pass a critical point so that the escape velocity matches the...

A characteristic of optical fiber used to calculate the fiber's ability to maintain polarization. The beat length describes...

Formula that describes the thermal equilibrium of gas electrons and ions as a direct function of variations in temperature.

Defines the minimum operational standards for a self-sustaining fusion reactor as equivalence between energy released per...

CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...

Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...

Anisotropic is a term used to describe a material or substance that exhibits different properties or behaviors in different...

The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e....

A positioning slide mechanism with two rows of alternately crisscrossed cylindrical rollers.

A term used to describe a spectacle lens or blank with one surface totally finished.

A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...

The area of optics that deals with the interaction of light with a given material. The optical properties of material are...

Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional...

A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...

The description of the refractive index along a fiber diameter.

Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...

Describes incident radiation propagating parallel to an externally applied magnetic field in magneto-optical experimentation.

A measure of the time-integrated amount of flux. It has units of lumen-seconds and might be used to describe such things as...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...

Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...

A term used to describe a saddle-shaped -- i.e., convex along one axis, concave along the other -- polished surface,...

Describing a surface that is coated with a film of metal of such thickness that it transmits about one-half of the incident...

Mathematically defined as the product of etendue (or throughput) and the square of the refractive index, the optical extent...

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an...

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images...

Descriptive of an optical fiber having a core refractive index that decreases almost parabolically and radially outward...

A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical...

Intense scattering in the region of the liquid-gas critical point. At this point the gas will strongly scatter all light to...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...

The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...

The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...

A term that describes an incomplete polish.

A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small...

Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) refers to a specific range of UV radiation that has disinfectant properties capable of killing...

The small central portion of the human retina that is responsible for providing the clearest, and most distinct aspects of...

Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...

The plot that expresses a reaction rate vs. the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Often used to describe the thermal...

A system that transmits and receives identification codes to facilitate the discrimination between enemy and friend in a...

Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In...

A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living...

The reflection that occurs within a substance because the angle of incidence of light striking the boundary surface is in...

A circuit incorporated into counter systems that records only pulses that have amplitudes between two preselected limits.

Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that focuses on the anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the eyes and visual system....

An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation....

Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...

Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...

Describing the standard television method of raster scanning in which the image is the product of two fields, each of which...

Term used to describe an optical surface that contacts the test glass only at its edges.

Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and...

1. Viewed with one eye. 2. Describing an image as viewed from a single angle.

Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...

Photoresist is a light-sensitive material used in photolithography processes, particularly in the fabrication of...

A term used to describe a nondirectionally diffusing surface that, when illuminated, appears equally bright from all angles....

An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...

Alphanumerical description of color according to Munsell hue, value and chroma.

A critical image parameter in applications where object position may change dynamically relative to the imager; this is a...

A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various...

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a...

The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...

Approximation of a system of thermal equilibrium formed by the distribution of the kinetic energies of electrons in a gas...

The phenomenon observed by A.H. Compton in 1923 -- that some scattered radiation possesses a longer wavelength and...

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...

A scintillation detector is a radiation detection device that utilizes scintillation crystals to detect and measure ionizing...

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...

A mode that is confined by virtue of a lower-index medium surrounding the cladding. Cladding modes, in the terminology of...

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all...

Relative to a light source, the frequency at which the source appears to fluctuate in light intensity half the time and...

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into...

The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as...

Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...

The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...

The criterion maintaining that if light follows a specific path through an optical system, it will, if reversed, traverse...

Recombination of only the light that is correctly dispersed by the first stage of a polychromator through its wide...

A measure of an optical system's ability to produce an image which separates two points or parallel lines on the object. See...

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...

Thermal emission caused by the unity in absorption bands that must be discriminated when calculating radiation intensity of...

A formulaic description of the linear change of the reciprocal optical dielectric tensor with either stress or strain.

1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain,...

States that in interferometers in which the separation of the maxima is equal to the half-value width, a slight drop in...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...

A multidimensional array of values that is commonly used in programming to describe a time series of image data. Each...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers...

A term describing lenses with both surfaces finished but not yet cut to any form.

The sine of the vertex angle of the largest cone of meridional rays that can enter or leave an optical system or element,...

Instantaneous field of view (iFOV) is a term commonly used in the context of remote sensing, imaging systems, and optical...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...

A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of...

An interferometric method for describing the surface shape of large coated or uncoated optical flats. The procedure uses a...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...

The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It...

An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...

In image processing and elsewhere, generally an adjective to describe an assembly-line arrangement for performing a task....

The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...

The allowable departure from the given figure or geometrical form. It may be described in terms of fringes or wavelengths.

The term sometimes used to describe the sequential arrangement of components in a video system -- from transmitter to...

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It...

A spheric lens, also known as a spherical lens, is a type of optical lens with at least one surface that is part of a...

A symbol used to represent the refractive index. It is commonly used with a subscript to represent the wavelength of light.

Superresolution refers to the enhancement or improvement of the spatial resolution beyond the conventional limits imposed by...

Hydrophilic is a term used to describe substances or materials that have an affinity for water. The word hydrophilic comes...

Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision,...

A term used to describe a convex surface having too short a radius of curvature. To correct this condition, material is cut...

A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their...

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the...

A term denoting the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field associated with an electromagnetic wave when describing...

A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...

A family of specialized instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study a patient's eyes and prescribe...

A CIE index describing the changes in color of standard test objects when the illumination is changed from a standard to a...

A term that describes both the color and intensity of the immediate environment of the object or image being viewed.

This term literally means "to lag behind.'' It is quite often used to describe the residual effect that remains after...

A device used to prepare optical fiber end faces; a scribe line made by the cleaver's blade propagates across the fiber,...

Epitaxial deposition is a process used in semiconductor manufacturing and materials science to grow a thin crystalline...

The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter...

Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion...

The storage of information via optical means, primarily employing a low-power laser to inscribe data on a photosensitive...

Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry to obtain IR spectra of samples....

In image acquisition (and sampling theory), the postulate that the pickup sampling frequency must be a minimum of twice as...

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a...

Any integrated circuit that also makes use of one or more discrete components; frequently used to describe circuits that...

Describing a prism, or the effects produced by prisms.

Laser peening is a surface enhancement technique used to improve the mechanical properties of materials, particularly...

A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....

Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics where two or more particles become correlated to such an extent...

An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...

The generic term describing the class of light particles having no strong interactions.

The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...

An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It...

3D Laser Triangulation - A technology that allows sensors to probe the surroundings. Laser triangulation systems have an...

Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic...

Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry...

Describing a laser that emits simultaneously at more than one wavelength.

A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows...

The least angle of incidence at which total internal reflection takes place. The angle of incidence in a denser medium, at...

Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that involves using a laser to selectively fuse...

Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...

A term used in data processing to describe a cathode-ray tube that displays graphic or character data.

The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide...

In optics and photonics, "phase" refers to a property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the position...

That portion of the telecommunications network that runs from a local central telephone to the subscriber premises.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a mechanism describing the transfer of energy between two closely spaced...

Description of a material, such as a water-soluble salt, that will continue absorbing moisture from the surrounding...

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...

1. A term used to describe the clouded appearance of an incompletely polished surface that scatters light. 2. The...

Hypothetical observer having standard color vision as described by standard color-matching properties.

Edge enhancement technique that accentuates all edge details in an image without discriminating as to spatial orientation.

The system of color classification and description produced by Wilhelm Ostwald.

A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and...

Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the...

The exact mathematical description of the interactions of matter and intense electromagnetic fields, such as those that...

Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within...

For each mode in an optical waveguide, the term used to describe the process by which an electromagnetic signal is distorted...

Oleophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or resist oils. The word oleophobic comes from the...

The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's...

The term delta error (delta-E) generally refers to the difference or change in error between two values or states. The word...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, single-stranded RNA molecules, typically consisting of about 19 to 24 nucleotides,...

Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions....

A term that describes any state of glass before its manufacture as an element.

A precisely defined series of steps that describes how a computer performs a task.

The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated...

Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...

A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...

Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement,...

Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to...

Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area....

An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...

A Pockels cell, also known as an electro-optic modulator, is an optical device used to control the polarization of light by...

The code used to describe the United States system of color telecasting.

The term "Rydberg atom" refers to an atom in a highly excited state where one or more of its electrons are in a Rydberg...

Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly...

A term describing an antireflection coating that may be applied to optics that cannot tolerate the high temperatures usually...

In an optical system, the aperture size at which the lens gives its best overall performance.

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...

A lens mounting with eccentric rings that may be rotated to shift the axis of the lens to a prescribed position.

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as...

That wavelength at which the absorption of a given element or system begins to demonstrate an inconstant value.

An instrument in which visible light beyond the critical angle from a metallurgical microscope is focused on a reference...

Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in...

An angstrom, symbolized by the Ångström or Å, is a unit of length used to express atomic and molecular...

The attribute of visual experience that can be described as having quantitatively specifiable dimensions of hue, saturation,...

A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...

MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer...

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) is a type of display technology used in electronic devices, known for its energy...

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance....

The use of thin flexible glass or plastic fibers as wave guides — or "light pipes" — to channel light from one...

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides...

The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...

A photomask, also known simply as a mask or reticle, is a key component in the photolithography process used in...

Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...

An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...

A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...

The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects...

Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or...