The material that has the lowest possible constant melting point of any possible combination of the same components.

Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and...

Imaging materials that generally consist of a polyester base, a transparent electrically conductive layer and an organic...

Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...

Photogrammetric compensation for incidental camera movement (which prevents attainment of true vertical photographs) whereby...

Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or...

Injecting a gas (usually nitrogen) with a very low moisture content into the body of an optical instrument to create a...

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

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) refers to a set of safety features and technologies designed to assist drivers in...

Rolling shutter artifacts are distortions or visual anomalies that can occur in images or videos captured by cameras with...

Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the...

The conductivity increase exhibited by some nonmetallic materials, resulting from the free carriers generated when photon...

In a birefringent material, the index of refraction varies with the direction of vibration of a lightwave. That direction...

A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its...

A ruggedized scintillation counter used in oil well logging. The cylindrical housing contains a gamma ray source, a...

The selective scattering of light as it passes through a diffusing medium.

An image of an object that appears above the object's true position as the result of abnormal refraction of the image rays...

Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT...

Voltage that produces current flow in the direction of lesser resistance to the steady-state direct current, i.e., from the...

Decrease in cosmic ray activity that is observed approximately 24 hours after a solar flare, attributed to a shielding...

The angle at which photoelectric sensors are aligned to prevent light from being reflected back to the sensor from the...

A lens aberration in which the focal length varies radially outward from the center of the field. It has the effect of...

A method of graphical ray tracing through a boundary surface dividing two media of differing indices of refraction.

In a sequence of laser pulse emissions, the intitial pulse that often helps initiate a reaction at the target surface,...

Refers to the characteristic hue of the ocean according to the presence and concentration of specific minerals or...

A type of conducting surface or material used to reflect radiant energy.

A reflecting grating ruled on a concave spherical surface that not only disperses the light but focuses the spectrum. The...

In an interlaced scanning electro-optical system such as television, the system resolution will be less than the number of...

A 30-60-90° spectrograph prism that is coated on the surface opposite the 60° angle with a reflecting film.

A Michelson-type interference microscope used to produce interference patterns of reflective specimens through the...

A plate of glass in which a face has been frosted by grinding or etching. It diffuses light by scattering in directions...

A photographic camera designed to produce reproduction film of visual information (pictures, line drawings, graphs) for...

A spectrograph that functions in a vacuum and therefore eliminates any air-absorption of the emission being surveyed.

A rangefinder similar to a pair of binoculars with a long base, a dot or other wander mark provided in each eyepiece field,...

Contraction of "picture element." See pixel.

With respect to microscopy, also called dispersive staining, optical staining the projection of colors through areas of a...

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits,...

Electromagnetic energy that is capable of producing photochemical activity.

One of the two major types of optical glass, the other being crown glass. Flint glass is softer than crown glass, has a...

Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows...

A prism that often is used as a dispersing element in spectrographs and monochromators.

An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement...

The power that gives rise to the production of energy at the rate of 1 joule per second.

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing...

A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture...

An intensity distribution (intensity as a function of radial distance from the beam center) which is given by the Gaussian...

A plate made of a double-refracting crystal having such a density that a phase difference of one-quarter cycle is formed...

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

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

The induction of an electric field in a semiconductor by an incident laser beam. The technique has rapid response time at...

Luminescence that arises from friction and that usually occurs in crystalline materials.

Also referred to as a band-stop or band rejection filter; a notch filter is a filter that is designed to screen out a very...

A method of measuring complex sequential photosynthetic reactions by varying the pulse time and wavelength of light...

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It...

An erasable data recording and storage medium that uses a laser to heat the crystalline surface of the disc to a certain...

A process of color photography in which colors are added one to another in the form of light, rather than as colorants, to...

A diagram that uses special symbols called logic symbols to represent the detailed functioning of electronic logic circuits....

A technique used in photogrammetry to ensure parallelism during projection printing. Failure to do this will change a...

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

The tendency of charge carriers to spiral about an axis in a direction identical to that of an applied magnetic field that...

A multimode laser characteristic defined as the ratio of power loss for the second mode to that of the lowest mode.

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

A small instrument containing a picture support and a pair of magnifying lenses so arranged that the left eye sees only the...

In a waveguide, a change in direction of the axis without deviating from the plane of polarization.

Process developed for the production of high-resolution patterns in electro- and magneto-optics. These high-generation...

The space between diffracting centers of an ultrasonic wave that is forming certain light diffraction spectra.

The intersection of the principal plane and the optical axis of a lens.

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

The stationary state of an ion, atom or molecule, above the ground state that is produced by the interaction with the...

Nanoparticle photonic resonator absorption microscopy is a microscopy technique that combines the principles of photonic...

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

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

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

With respect to laser radiation, the subjection of the human eye to all or a portion of the laser beam.

The restricting opening at the rear of a lens or prism that is commonly defined as the maximum diameter of the emergent cone...

Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...

A means of adjusting the sharpness of an image automatically, with a sensor for estimating distance or contrast and a drive...

A fusion system conductor capable of carrying current in opposite directions in alternating time phases.

A form of infrared CCD that utilizes internal photoemission as a photodetection mechanism.

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

In optics, an image is the reconstruction of light rays from a source or object when light from that source or object is...

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

The simultaneous collection of two or more signals at a single location. In a digital computer, it refers to the number of...

Characteristic of deflected light power defined as the quadratic invariant function of the video signal amplitude.

The light wavelength for which the direction of reflectance from the groove face is identical to the angle of diffraction...

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

A graph of the intersections of a fan of rays with the final image plane, plotted as a function of the positions of the rays...

In a lens, the square of the radius of its aperture divided by the product of the focal length and the wavelength. It...

Swept-source optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...

A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...

An array or mosaic of optical surfaces. May be a number of lenses closely packed to form multiple images or many parallel...

A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and...

Image of a uniform source through the sample of a microscope image system. Light from the sample plane is reimaged by the...

An electric discharge lamp in which the conducting vapor is that of metallic sodium instead of the usual mercury. It emits a...

A fundamental law of wave scattering theory that connects the extinction cross section of a scatterer to the real part of...

1. The additive process whereby the amplitudes of two or more overlapping waves are systematically attenuated and...

Technique using functional optical microscope with the addition of a coherent source collinear with the image path. The...

A material, such as gold black and carbon black, that is used as a solar absorber because of its high absorptance and low...

A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...

The scale for floating hydrometers used to measure the specific gravity of a polishing suspension. The depth of immersion is...

A prism produced by severing a Nicol prism and reconstructing the polarization angles of the two halves so that they are...

A thermometric instrument used for the detection and measurement of radiant energy. Its essential component is a short...

A package for electronic components that is suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards. The DIP is...

A plasma produced by the interaction of an intense laser pulse with a material surface. Production of ionized particle with...

Optical glass that possesses a refractive index equal to or less than 1.5, and an Abbe number that ranges from 62 to about...

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

A wireless stereo imaging device used in conjunction with a monitor to produce a virtual interactive environment. Liquid...

A change in the refractive index of an optical fiber caused by variation in the length of the fiber core in response to...

An optical wedge in which transmittance or density is a function of the location of the wedge, relative to a specific...

The force that stimulates the emission of an electrical current when photovoltaic action creates a potential difference...

A parabolic, elliptical, hyperbolic or circular section created when a solid cone is intersected by a plane.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor...

A spectrometric instrument that detects radiation simultaneously in multiple channels, sorts it spectrally from the deep...

Device that operates by interaction of incident radiation with semiconductor based material in order to produce an...

An optical device, such as a Nicol prism, capable of producing plane-polarized light, and used for detecting the effect of...

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

In optical emission spectroscopy, the reduction in radiant power in the central portion of spectral lines arising from the...

A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...

A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities but not in their atomic or alloy...

A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each...

A grazing incidence mirror telescope with concentric conic surfaces having a single common point: a paraboloid-hyperboloid...

A spectrograph using a prism that has an internally reflecting surface and that serves as a constant deviation prism.

Also referred to as the V number in fiber optics; the normalized frequency is a dimensionless quantity, denoted by the...

An imaging device originally created to image whole mouse brain volumes at microscopic resolution. The main component of the...

Situation in which the observer requires fewer than three independent stimuli to make color matches. Dichromats require only...

A spectroscopic technique used to display the intensity of an optical pulse as functions of time and frequency...

A small convergent lens, located between the objective and eyepiece of a microscope, that focuses an image of the upper...

A film of material that exhibits varying conductivity based upon its absorption of varying amounts of photon radiation.

In a semiconductor, the state created by the addition of a dopant that provides excess electrons.

An infrared transmitting material used in the production of fluoride glasses for optical fibers.

The angle between the most divergent rays that can pass through the lens to form an image. In a birefringent crystal light...

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

An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously...

There are three types of telecentric lenses: -Image-space telecentric lenses are those in which the aperture stop is...

A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition,...

A system used for gratings that consists of a concave mirror, a grating and a plate holder mounted normal to the grating to...

1. In a cathode-ray tube, the glow surrounding a bright spot that appears on the fluorescent screen as the result of the...

A device for obtaining very low crosstalk in a crosspoint by arranging two simple switches along different arms of a passive...

A mechanical device designed to smoothly vary the effective diameter of a lens, thereby controlling the amount of light...

A furnace used to heat glass materials. It may be a small laboratory-type furnace for small-scale experiments or large...

1. A flaw in a blank caused by folding the blank's surface during its formation. 2. The change in the direction of a...

An optical instrument consisting of an objective lens, a coherent (usually flexible) fiber bundle and an eyepiece to examine...

A process used to control thickness and parallelism precisely during the production of plane-parallel plates. Elements are...

A thin-film photoconductive cell that is sensitive to the infrared region. The photosensitive material of the cell is...

A type of eyepiece, or the modification of an eyepiece, in which a small hole, without a lens, functions as the eye lens;...

A physical constraint, often a lens retainer, that limits the diameter of the axial light bundle allowed to pass through a...

Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...

A unit of energy equal to the amount of energy absorbed by one molecule of material undergoing a photochemical reaction, as...

A device for extracting a portion of the optical signal from a fiber.

Photochromic refers to a property exhibited by certain materials, typically organic compounds or dyes, which undergo...

A device similar to distributed feedback lasers in construction and operation, but in which the period grating that produces...

Measurement of absorption by the gas of interest in the 2- to 6-µm range as a function of tangent height pressure. The...

The complex function, H(f), equal to the ratio of the output to input of the device as a function of frequency. The...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its...

A gas laser equipped with Brewster windows and concave mirrors (having unlike reflective properties) at each end of the tube...

A positive lens located at or close to an intermediate image plane. The collector refracts off-axis light bundles, directing...

An erecting prism that inverts and reverses the image. It displaces the optical axis but does not deviate it.

With respect to a beam, the radiation lobe having the direction of maximum radiation.

A measuring instrument used for surface profiling and quantifying the roughness of a material. The stylus is placed on the...

Light leakage at a total reflecting interface when another highly refractive medium is brought close to it.

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

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating...

A type of exposure meter that artificially reduces the light admitted in a sequence of known fractions until a value is...

Often referred to as the geometric center of a given image or image plane, the centroid of an image is a fixed point located...

The detection and analysis of naturally formed extraterrestrial electromagnetic radiation within the radio frequency range...

Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....

Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology....

Photocells of various kinds used to measure photometric quantities; i.e., intensity, luminance and illuminance. Meter...

A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing...

The creation of free electrons within a solid by the absorption of a sufficient amount of photons. The effect produces an...

All formulas that present the index of refraction as a function of a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. Also called...

The description of the refractive index along a fiber diameter.

A cylindrical convex viewing mirror used for viewing distorted pictures formed by photographing the reflections of the...

The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive...

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional...

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by...

A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical...

The effect discovered by Faraday in 1845 whereby nonoptically active materials or substances become capable of rotating the...

The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...

The first-order spectrum formed by a diffraction grating.

Impurity in a semiconductor or any other electroluminescent device capable of inducing hole conduction and accepting a...

A calculated measure of the ability of an incident force to cause an object to spin. The spin speed of any given object is a...

An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by...

Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...

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

A short focal length (less than five inches) positive lens used to produce a magnified image of the object being viewed....

An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current...

A group of lenses, or any combination of lenses, mirrors and prisms, so constructed as to refract or reflect light to...

A type of recording material, usually a photodielectric polymer, offering in situ development mechanisms because of its...

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the...

A transmission or reflecting grating with a flat or plane surface requiring a lens or concave mirror to focus the spectrum.

Luminescence produced by the bombardment of radiant energy such as x-rays, radioactive waves or alpha particles.

The attraction of particles suspended in a solution to a cathode, as a result of an electric field.

An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is...

1. That action occurring when light passes through an optical interface at other than normal incidence, i.e., refraction. 2....

The physical thickness times the refractive index.

Ratio of the molecular diffusion coefficients of momentum in terms of heat; used in convection studies.

In fiber optic cable, containment of the fiber or fibers within an outer protective tube in which they can move to some...

The basis of color vision in the human eye. Three types of cones have been identified, each having a unique spectral...

Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of...

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

The diffraction pattern of a source such as a light-emitting diode, injection laser diode or the output end of an optical...

The number of unique ways in which a part can move in an alignment system. In static alignment, there are six: one in the...

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 microscope designed so that the specimen is located face down above the objective.

1. A method of photographing distant objects with a lens of long focal length. 2. The reproduction of photographs over a...

Use of achromatic design; the correction of chromatic aberration; without color or hue (grey, black and white)

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate...

Pertaining to or as a function of wavelength. Spectral quantities are evaluated at a single wavelength.

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

A specialized form of diffraction grating consisting of assembled glass plates of equal thickness that resemble a flight of...

Reciprocal magnetic interaction between nuclei in a molecular system facilitated by the binding electrons of the molecule.

The Golgi staining technique (also called the black reaction) makes it possible to look at the nervous system by rendering...

Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the...

A method used in imaging to detect subtle differences between two apparently similar pictures. It can be achieved by...

A lens consisting of two or more elements, usually of crown and flint glass, that has been corrected for chromatic...

The electron beam tube of a television camera that converts an optical image into a pattern of electrostatic charges and...

A bulk crystalline optic which permits the propagation of light through a volume of index altered material. The variation in...

That part of the cladding wherein the refractive index is constant within a specified tolerance, as a function of radius.

The power, expressed in prism diopters, that is the linear displacement, in centimeters, produced by the prism one meter...

The study of chemical reactions stimulated by the properties of light.

Celestial point sources that emit specific wavelengths of radiation that appear on spectral charts as narrow lines. The term...

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and...

An instrument used to test lenses by utilizing the optical transfer function. It consists of a HeNe laser, a beamsplitter...

Characteristic of an absorber in the IR region, whereby absorption increases as a direct function of the intensity of the...

An electron tube that is used as a camera tube for a television system. When the picture to be transmitted is focused on a...

Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as...

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier....

Luminous flux emitted from a surface per unit solid angle per unit of area, projected onto a plane normal to the direction...

A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged...

The mathematical expression of the probability of any given state of energy being occupied when a semiconductor is in...

With respect to a crystal, having three unequal axes intersecting at angles, only two of which can be equal and only one of...

A lens with aberrations corrected to the point that residual wavefront errors are substantially less than one-quarter the...

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

An instrument for detecting and analyzing repetitive signals. Using a fixed time delay or "gate," the input signal...

A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber, defined as multiple surface irregularities across the fiber surface. A...

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

The determination of what, how much and in what proportions chemicals must be combined to produce the desired reactions and...

A projecting beam or other structure supported only at one end.

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

Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...

Also known as UV-VIS spectrometer, a device that measures the absorbance, reflectance or transmittance of light in the...

Modification of a system to provide for a linear transfer characteristic from an input to an output device. A circuit for...

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

Ratio between map or photo linear distance and the actual ground dimensions represented.

A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual...

See charge-coupled device; charge-injection device.

A photonic cavity, also known as an optical cavity, is a structure that confines electromagnetic radiation within a certain...

1. A constituent part. It may consist of two or more parts cemented together, or with near and approximately matching...

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to...

The adjustment of the eyepiece of an instrument to provide accommodation for the eyesight differences of individual...

The curved boundary between two optical media of different refractive indices, which causes convergence.

I/O stands for input/output. In computing, it refers to the communication between a computer system or program and its...

Denoting a finished circular edge. A decentered lens is adjusted on a centering chuck so that its image runs true, and the...

A specially designed microscope for observing the etched surface of a polished metal specimen. The specimen is often laid...

Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...

Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...

Spots in a polished glass surface that are opaque and have a silvery, metallic reflection.

FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging)...

The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1...

A fiber optic bundle split along its length with the ends of the fibers extending separately to illuminate different points...

The reduction in longitudinal, lateral and secondary chromatic aberrations in a lens or lens system.

The collection and analysis of data relevant to monitoring the rate and quality of industrial production, either...

An optical system that rapidly alternates two similar pictures or scenes to permit the detection of small dissimilarities...

The mounting of a concave diffraction grating and a plate holder at the ends of a rigid bar. The ends follow separate...

A type of mirage that creates a distorted vertical image of relatively flat objects so that they appear as mountains,...

A photographic process using x-ray radiation or the g-rays of radioactive materials.

Selection of specific brightness values or minimum threshold levels as contingencies for the display of digital data.

A camera designed to record at rates exceeding 50 fps. For frame rates up to about 500 fps, an ordinary pull-down mechanism...

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

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These...

A crystal having the axes of its grains aligned so that they have directional magnetic characteristics.

The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the speed of light in the medium.

A wave in which energy is focused near a boundary separating materials having different properties. Propagation of the wave...

An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or...

The equation devised by Sir G.B. Airy for the analysis of light diffraction near a caustic surface: (d2f/dz2) - zf = 0 where...

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

In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation,...

The range of frequencies over which a particular instrument is designed to function within specified limits. See also fiber...

A stream of electrons emitted by a single source that move in the same direction and at the same speed.

A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for...

A fiber for which the difference between the maximum and the minimum refractive index is small, usually less than 1 percent.

Two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) is a nonlinear optical method that allows imaging of biological cells and living...

Also known as corner-cube reflector or retrodirective reflector. Three reflecting surfaces, perpendicular to each other,...

A partially filled or empty energy band through which electrons can move easily. The material can therefore carry an...

A rotating mirror coupled with a distant mirror and used in a system by Foucault to compute the velocity of light. Light...

Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...

A transparent crystalline substance that displays the same optical properties (i.e. refractive index) in all directions such...

The computer module whose circuitry interprets instructions and guides the actions of the peripherals. Also known as the...

A refracting telescope that uses a prism to bend the line of sight 90°.

Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...

The interaction between a photon and an energetic electron, caused by collision, that transfers energy from the electron to...

Also known as roof prism. A type of prism designed by G.B. Amici. It consists of a roof edge produced upon the long...

A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a...

A rigid medium, generally a polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information (such...

A mirror employed with a very high incidence angle to form a pair of coherent light sources by reflection, and therefore...

With respect to a traveling plane wave at a known frequency, the space rate of decrease of phase of a field component in the...

A device that consists of two types of mode converters, one of which must be magnetic. It is nonreciprocal because the...

The photomicrographic recording of Schlieren effects, irregular refractions of light from optic surfaces or areas of thin,...

An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...

The nondestructive analysis and recording of industrial components based on the absorption of relatively low-energy neutrons...

A countermeasure used against heat seeking missiles to reduce their effectiveness. Normally it involves the emittance of...

More efficient than the Foucault knife-edge test, this test examines curved mirrors by using a transmission grating with 40...

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....

The compression and intensification of a laser pulse of a specific width into a smaller pulse width. A spherical cavity, in...

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In...

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) is a semiconductor alloy composed of gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), and phosphorus (P). It...

A microscope that uses an extremely fine x-ray focal point to produce an enlarged photographic image of a sample. Also known...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...

Ray tracing is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a scene....

Lens aberration resulting in image size variation as a function of wavelength. See also chromatic aberration.

A laser skin-resurfacing method that creates microscopic thermal wounds referred to as microscopic treatment zones (MTZs),...

A process by which a plastic cell is molded around a glass lens or lenses to create a mount, eliminating the metal barrel...

A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two...

A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into...

An interference microscope that uses a light beam originating from a low-coherence light source. The sample is placed in one...

The transition cross section constant coefficient which defines the transition probability of absorption from ground to a...

A scanning technique in which the optical density of the film being scanned controls the speed of deflection of the scanning...

The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie...

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and...

A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the...

Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...

With relation to the equivalent beam candlepower of a searchlight, the candlepower of a bare source that would produce the...

A small round mirror on the end of a handle used for viewing inside an inaccessible cavity.

The solid angle of a detector or system pupil as seen by the source.

Nondestructive measurement of the delta and alpha of clad optical fibers that involves interferometry with the fiber...

Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or...

That viewpoint at which the angular subtenses of points in the picture are identical to angular subtenses of the original...

Also known as gas focusing. The introduction of an inert gas into a cathode-ray tube for the concentration of the electron...

As a wavefront of light passes by an opaque edge or through an opening, secondary weaker wavefronts are generated,...

Study of the reflection or transmission properties of specimens as a function of wavelength.

An aptamer is a short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule that can bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity...

A photodetector employing photoregeneration of carriers in the channel region of an FET structure to provide photodetection...

The basic process of color photography whereby colors are subtracted from white light by means of filters, making all colors...

A method of applying antireflection coatings to optics that avoids the elevated temperatures normally used. A cold coating...

Any material that derives its energy from chemically or electrically induced reactions; isotope or radium excitation is used...

A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...

A telescopic light-sensing meter used to measure illumination levels of small regions at a distance of many feet; it is used...

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

Formulaic compensation to correct laser ranging data for the effects of horizontal refractivity gradients; it requires the...

A self-healing, index-matching, nonporous coating for optical components that can eliminate production difficulties and...

The law stating that the just-perceptible increment of stimulus is a constant fraction of the stimulus.

A polarizing beamsplitting prism similar in design to the Rochon prism. However, the Senarmont transmits the extraordinary...

Micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT) is an imaging technique that is an adaptation of optical coherence tomography...

A single positive lens or group of lenses used in a projection system to collect light from a source and cause it to...

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

The natural log of the ratio of absorbed intensity over the total intensity which gives a constant value assuming a stable...

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

The specular reflection of individual parts of a surface.

(TOF) The length of time needed for a signal to arrive at and be reflected from the target. The basis of an active...

A specific type of photographic plate designed with only a small amount of gelatin to function in the extreme ultraviolet...

Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...

Any device in which the passage of electrons through a vacuum, gas or semiconductor is the principal means of conduction.

A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...

1. A lens situated at or near the plane of an internal image to project the aperture of a previous objective or erector upon...

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

Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and...

An optical mounting device that permits adjustment around two perpendicular and intersecting axes of rotation.

Holographic tomography is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and tomography to provide three-dimensional...

An optical recording technique that uses light source(s), a beamsplitting cube, light detector(s) and an optical fiber...

A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value,...

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

An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....

A small section of the surface of a sensor corresponding to a single pixel in the image.

The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...

A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...

A telescope stand equipped with a polar axis that can be set parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation and a declination axis...

Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...

Measures by heterodyning interferometry the local slope of a vibrating sample. The method allows the reconstruction of a...

The central hole running the full length of a laser capillary tube, in which electrical discharge and laser action take...

The formation of a fan of light or energy rays in a beam as the beam passes through an extremely narrow aperture.

An instrument designed to measure the refractive power and range of accommodation of the eye. See ophthalmic instruments.

The formation of microimages for microreduction. The technique is used, for example, in the production of precision reticles...

An objective measure of an object's brightness that is derived from the ratio of the luminance of its lightest section to...

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although...

A gelatinous fluid that can be used as a porous thin-film coating for optical components, including laser beam collimators,...

Sometimes referred to as the surface normal or 'surface norm'; the normal is an axis that forms right angles with a surface...

A grating with ridges of rectangular cross section, generally equal in width to the space between. This type of grating may...

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

Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive...

A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...

Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or...

A doubly refracting crystal having a single axis along which there is an absence of double refraction.

The thick edge of a refracting prism.

Transmittance of a solution, or internal transmittance of a transparent solid, is an exponential function of the thickness...

In a semiconductor, the state created by the addition of a dopant that creates excess holes.

Elastic scattering that occurs when inelastic processes eliminate particles from the beam.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects...

Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...

Law relating the illuminance (or irradiance) of a surface to the cosine of the angle, q, between the normal to the surface...

A collector for photovoltaic power generation that consists of a thin plate that strongly absorbs sunlight striking its...

A chemical detection technique used to measure molecules that have a magnetic dipole moment. The analysis is directed to...

Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the...

A photocell having an alloy junction formed by combining an indium disc with a thin wafer of N-type germanium.

An instrument that is used to chart x-ray diffraction patterns, such as an x-ray spectrometer having photographic or other...

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

A means of achieving higher peak powers and more efficient harmonic generation by narrowing the pulse width and thus...

Flux per unit solid angle leaving a surface in any direction is proportional to the cosine of the angle between that...

The angle formed between the normal to a surface and the reflected ray. This angle lies in a common plane with the angle of...

A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle...

Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or...

An imperfection in optical glass consisting of a distinct streak of transparent material having a slightly different...

A method used in integrated optics; formed by growing an epitaxial layer of active material, removing it from its base and...

gas laser using ionized argon as the active medium and applying electronic excitation in order to produce the laser light

Directing an optical beam in varying directions by varying reflection, refraction, focusing and diffraction methods.

The angle that lies between the direction of an incident light beam and any resulting diffracted beam.

A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...

A paraboloidal surface on which the image is located when there is no astigmatism.

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

A vacuum tube in which a magnetic field is superimposed onto the tube's electrical field. When the two fields are aligned,...

A technique used for noncontact inspection of semiconductor wafers. The material is illuminated by an excitation source that...

A material used as a protective layer on an aluminized or silvered mirror. It is evaporated on the mirror as a thin layer,...

The theoretical explanation and analysis of the interactions between electron waves and crystals used in studying electron...

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

The production of a positron-electron pair by a photon having energy greater than one mega-electron-volt, whereby some of...

A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...

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

The eye's involuntary reaction in the process of accommodation. This reflex is most dramatic in response to looking at a...

An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms,...

An automatic camera that can record reduced images of documents at a rate of up to 30,000 documents per hour by having the...

The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose...

A technique that combines two or more imaging processes in order to minimize the disadvantages within each of the...

A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It...

A 45-90-45° reflecting prism whose surfaces form the 90° angle reflecting the light beam through a total angle of 180°. The...

A loose term for a single polishing machine. In a lens factory it is the minimum unit of production.

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such...

Color correcting; chromatic aberration corrected.

A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared...

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

The study concerned with the stimulation of chemical activity by laser light as a result of the absorption of photons by a...

A device employed to identify toxic agents lingering on the ground or in the air from up to three miles away, by using laser...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of...

A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a...

The bending of oblique incident rays as they pass from a medium having one refractive index into a medium with a different...

A polyethylene grating that transmits the long wavelengths and diffracts shorter wavelengths in controlled directions.

In an optical waveguide, a mode whose field decays monotonically for a finite distance in the transverse direction but which...

An optical matrix that does not require perfection in both states of the crosspoint, so that all the optical switches can be...

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...

The scanning of a region in a given sequence of slender, straight parallel strips.

In fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the...

A compound prism composed of two 30° prisms, one of which is partially coated with a suitable opaque metal of high...

The diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasonic energy to probe the body and, with the help of laser beams, a reflecting...

A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric...

An optical switch that controls conduction paths into and out of a junction in fiber optic and integrated optical circuits.

A reflecting surface that scatters radiation that is incident on it, thus producing diffuse reflection.

An intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) camera is an advanced imaging device that combines the capabilities of both an...

A semiconductor device with a semiconductor junction in which infrared radiant flux is nonthermally produced when a current...

The law expressing the condition under which a crystal will reflect a beam of x-rays with the greatest amount of distinction...

1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...

A photodiode having a conducting grid that covers the surface of the photodiode junction and intercepts and wastes some of...

A device designed to measure linear or rotary motion by detection of the movement of markings on a transparent medium past a...

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

The series of images formed when periodic objects are exposed to collimated monochromatic radiation and that result from...

A birefringent crystal having two axes along which there is an absence of double refraction. Mica, sulphur and turquoise are...

A fiber optic transmission system in which data can go in only a single direction.

Cyan, magenta and yellow. They are called subtractive because they each subtract one color by absorbtion and reflect the two...

In a communications network, a point at which data are received or from which they are sent. Though the term often is used...

The optical element that receives light from the object and forms the first or primary image in telescopes and microscopes....

Process that occurs when a polymerized soft plastic rod with higher refractive index is placed in a bath of a lower...

A form of microfiche that has an information reduction ratio that is greater than 100 to 1.

The photographic filming of the action of x-ray images recorded on a fluorescent screen by means of large lens apertures and...

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and...

The intermolecular attraction between two surfaces, as between a substrate and a coating; it is an important factor in the...

Photographic recording that uses infrared radiation as the light source to form an image of a microscopic object and a...

The distortion of an object's true image as the result of abnormal atmospheric disturbances along the path traveled by the...

A device used to project a small area of light on a screen for indication.

The ability of an electrical current to destroy superconductivity by means of the magnetic field generated by the current....

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

A large-scale, precise drawing of the contours of a perfect mechanical part, often with plus and minus tolerances drawn or...

Light consisting of a single wavelength or a very narrow band of wavelengths.

In an optical rangefinder, the system of wedges that rotate in opposite directions to aid in the detection of deviation in...

The function that characterizes the quality of an optical system by denoting the modulation and spatial phase shift of the...

A high-speed network or subnetwork that provides a connection between servers and data storage devices.

An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector...

A type of glass containing barium oxide, which is added to increase the refractive index while maintaining a relatively low...

The ratio of the active core area of a fiber bundle to the total area at its light-emitting or receiving end.

White, tetragonal crystals used in the production of luminous coatings.

The optical form of the crystal fluorspar, calcium fluoride, that is utilized for its low optical dispersion, its low...

Straight line travel. This denotes the fact that light travels in a straight line when traveling through a medium with a...

A superconducting bolometer, operating at very low temperatures, that is used to detect infrared radiation.

The range of image distances that corresponds to the range of object distances covered by the depth of field.

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

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue,...

An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a...

In a medium of constant refractive index, the product of the geometrical distance and the refractive index.

The metal tube that maintains the optical components of a lens in proper relationship. Some lenses are mounted in metal...

A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...

A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical...

A device that combines the functions of encoder and decoder.

A defect on or in an optical element that does not appreciably impair the function of the surface.

The interaction between electrical and mechanical stress-strain factors in a material. When piezoelectric crystal is...

In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs...

The principle stating that two diffraction screens, one being exactly the negative of the other, will form the same...

A device attached to the end of an alignment telescope that detects and calculates a plane mirror's rotation axis that is...

A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...

An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by...

Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...

A rear or front projection screen composed of minute optical surfaces that introduce a spread to the light beam that...

An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other...

Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...

Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a...

A device used in ultrasonic imaging to measure the velocity and attenuation of compressional waves in a transparent liquid...

A spectroscopic technique used in the detection of free radicals by virtue of their electronic spectra. In this method, an...

Modulation transfer function of an optical element when used for transporting images from a lambertian source such as...

A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...

A restricting wavelength above or below which a specified form of radiation is totally almost absorbed by a specified medium.

Acronym for profile resolution obtained by excitation. In its simplest form, probe involves the overlap of two...

Filoviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fevers in humans and...

The unit solid angle subtended at the center of a sphere by an area on its surface equivalent to the square of the radius;...

A device that produces brief flashes of light for observing the behavior of an object during a short interval. One of the...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain...

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen chemical elements found in the Earth's crust, characterized by their...

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

A robotic process commonly employed by automakers that enables high-speed and flexible production throughput by using...

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

1. An optical device used for projection of enlarged images of transparencies or lantern slides on a screen. 2. A device...

A transparent crystalline substance that is anisotropic relative to the velocity of light.

In compact disc and CD-ROM technology, the portion of the drive that projects the laser light onto the surface of the media...

When a block of glass (prism, window, filter, etc.) is placed into a converging light bundle, it increases the physical...

The use of the photographic process to produce precision copies of an original image that are many times smaller in size....

A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and...

A transition boundary between two regions having different properties in a P-type semiconducting material.

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...

A modified form of an image-retaining panel that can be used in subdued daylight. This is achieved by adding a layer of zinc...

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

A fluorophore is a molecule or a portion of a molecule that has the ability to emit light upon excitation by an external...

The process of removing some of the constituents of a glass surface by chemical action.

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

An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists,...

An X-Y electrically addressable series of arrays with individual electron emitters bombarding a phosphor-coated transparent...

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

A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical...

A fluid used to decrease the temperature rise produced by friction or other causes.

Electron released in photoelectric activity.

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

An optical system that is corrected for distortion and spherical aberration and therefore forms the image of a straight line...

An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...

A chemical reaction involving the production of light. The reaction of ethylene with ozone is chemiluminescent.

Horizontal concentrations that comprise the dominant factor in atmospheric gradient correction. The range bias near due...

A surface that envelops a bundle of rays or bundle of normals to the wave surface. It may be observed as a hollow, luminous...

A shift in the direction of the red in the spectral lines of light which, defined by the relativity theory, will have...

FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of...

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby the processing elements are directed by a single, central...

A system of mirrors that can be used to direct light from a single laser source into any one of a number of separate optical...

Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...

The resulting contraction or expansion of a piezoelectric crystal along an electric axis when the crystal is under the...

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...

One surface of a nonconducting plate that is coated with many minute particles of photoemissive material that are insulated...

An analytical technique used to determine, identify and localize impending malfunctions. It is based upon quantitative and...

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

A type of surface-emitting laser diode that uses dielectric mirrors to produce surface emission. The laser cavity is...

A telescopic system having an eyepiece, a reticle and an objective. The instrument measures wavefront power in diopters.

In image processing, the mathematical relationships that link pixel brightnesses of input images to those of output images...

A microscope equipped with a polarizer, an analyzer and a Bertrand lens to focus on the upper focal plane of the objective....

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

A testing device that provides a contour map of the emergent wavefront for the observer in terms of the given wavelength of...

An acronym for radioactive detection, identification and computation. The term refers to the detection and measurement of...

That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a...

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

An optical source that has a luminous distribution that is uniform for all directions.

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded...

A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which...

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to...

The maximum angle of view that can be recorded by a camera. Field is a function of lens focal length and film format.

The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to...

An optical instrument containing a gimballed sighting telescope, used to measure angular relationships in horizontal and...

The transform defining that, if a reference beam is a divergent spherical wavefront, then the reconstructed image will be...

A mirage that consists of an image of an object appearing below its true position as the result of abnormal refraction by...

A form of dispersing prism, often used in monochromators, that consists of a common right-angle prism with a 30°...

Interaction of a magnetic field with a photoconductive substance exposed to light to create a potential difference.

A type of liquid-crystal display in which each display element contains an active component, such as a thin-film transistor,...

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine...

With respect to television, the returning direction of the electron beam during the vertical blanking period.

A diode with a semiconducting material, such as germanium or silicon, for one electrode, and a fine wire "whisker''...

Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...

Wavelengths between 400 and 1400 nm (VIS to NIR) are focused onto the retina by the cornea. Because the retina is sensitive...

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

The lowest anode voltage at which a gas tube can sustain a discharge.

An eyepiece consisting of a planoconvex field lens and a cemented doublet as the eye lens.

A laser that has a surface-emitting semiconductor gain element coupled to an external mirror designed to complete the laser...

The section of crystal symmetry having only one-quarter of the greatest number of faces permitted by the crystal system of...

The alteration of electric conductivity produced by the absorption of varying amounts of radiation composed of photons.

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent...

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

A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by...

In photoelectric sensing, the portion of the transmitted beam that actually functions in the system; the diameter of the...

Correction of an optical system at four separate wavelengths. This correction, longitudinal and lateral, is possible with...

The real numerical aperture (NA) of a fiber when the computed NA is not valid because of change in the glass indices during...

The output of spectral channels written as an integral function of known solar irradiance, atmospheric transmittance and...

A form of lens assembly used in a projection system to maximize efficiency and assure uniform illumination of the object...

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

1. An instrument used to determine the visual range in an environment. 2. A type of photometer that artificially reduces an...

A type of birefringent polarizing prism that transmits the extraordinary ray and removes the ordinary ray through total...

A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...

A plane that lies at right angles to the tube axis that has the deflection center.

Full width half maximum (FWHM) is a measure of the extent of a function. Given by the difference between the two extreme...

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...

The characteristic of displaying three colors when observed in as many separate directions.

The apparent difference in brightness between light and dark areas of an image. For a light target against a dark...

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy...

The study of the reflection or transmission properties of specimens as a function of wavelength after they have been excited...

A device used to scan, with a small, intensely bright spot, portions of a picture surface and to transform the original...

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS...

A reproduction made of an original grating -- usually by casting thermosetting plastics onto the original -- to avoid the...

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single,...

A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector...

The binding of gas to a surface or in matter by chemical activity.

A profile of an optical component, usually a fiber, in which the core is of uniform refractive index and the cladding or...

1. A prism used in some instruments to bend light 90° before it enters the objective. 2. A dispersing prism located in...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...

The propagation constant evaluated along the axis of a waveguide, that is, in the direction of transmission. Also called...

A telephoto lens form noted for its lack of distortion.

A solid-state device similar to an ordinary transistor except that incident light on the PN junctions regulates the response...

A mode possessing components of both electrical and magnetic field vectors in the direction of propagation.

A smooth, highly polished surface, for reflecting light, that may be plane or curved if wanting to focus and or magnify the...

With respect to display systems, a device that uses an independent light source and a control-layer medium, the active...

The field of view seen through some types of coincidence rangefinders. It is formed by the juxtaposition of opposite halves...

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

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film...

A means of high resolution study through the application of soft and hard x-rays onto a sample surface in order to obtain...

Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) refers to a medical procedure used in the treatment of coronary artery disease....

A unit of optical measurement that expresses the refractive power of a lens or prism. In a lens or lens system, it is the...

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems....

The multiple beam form of Brewster's fringes formed when the two plane-parallel plates have high-reflecting surfaces.

The process of microphotography that involves the reduction of the original at a ratio greater than 100 to 1. The process is...

Two plane mirrors that are not wholly located in the same plane. When light from a point source or slit reflects from the...

Oscillator device composed of a semiconducting diode in a coaxial resonating cavity. When the biasing current is applied to...

A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and may appear...

An optical system of variable focal length, the focal plane remaining in a fixed position. This result is achieved by moving...

The removal of a sharp edge on an optical element by grinding, to prevent accidental chipping of that edge during subsequent...

A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its...

The action of a biological system responding to a single or multiple coherent particles of light produced from a laser...

A transparent diffraction grating that serves to transmit light.

The creation of a chemical reaction in a substance when radiation is directed to it.

A colorless, crystalline compound whose low refractive index (n = 1.38) makes it effective as a lens antireflection coating...

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing...

A method for characterizing a fiber wherein an optical pulse is transmitted through the fiber, and the resulting light...

Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and...

A form of liquid crystal with an appearance of moving, threadlike structures, particularly visible when observed in thick...

A lens system that is capable of producing a 360° image, or one that is very close to that. In recording, the image may...

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical technique used to detect changes in blood volume in tissues. It...

A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible...

A monitoring technique used to measure the oxygen saturation levels in the brains of patients, commonly in operating room...

Gas detection measurement technique that uses a built-in capacitative microphone to calculate the amount of absorbed laser...

Used to detect radiation from the infrared region. The functional process includes absorption of infrared radiation, which...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation...

Spherical or chromatic aberration in a lens having a wide aperture. It is present because the refracting power varies for...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA...

Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...

A process by which the ionizing capabilities of a laser beam are used to break initiate conduction between pairs of...

1. Also known as near-field diffraction. The field of radiation sent through an aperture in an absorbing screen at large...

Flux per unit solid angle and per unit area measured normal to the direction of propagation of the flux.

Translucent collector developed to compensate for the partial blocking of a flat surface's collection angle that normally...

1. A plane that forms one side of the groove ruled on a diffraction grating. 2. To form the individual grooves of a grating...

A region far from an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern is essentially the same as that at infinity. Changes...

A spectral signature, in the context of remote sensing and spectroscopy, refers to the unique pattern or characteristic...

A lamp used in projection that is made with a reflector built into the bulb, normally by coating a portion of its interior...

A retroreflector that can focus a beam of light, with one planar reflective surface, one spherical and a third that is...

The point of intersection of the optical axis with any centered optical surface.

The active control of various aspects (optical element position, airspace thickness, etc.) of an optical system that...

The parameters, relative to polarized light and the Poincaré sphere, that are usually represented as: I, the intensity of...

A lenticular screen having the lenticules tipped about 20° to compensate for off-normal projection.

A measurement device used to study the structure of matter using the diffraction of electromagnetic radiation.

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

Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) is a medical treatment approach that combines elements of phototherapy and immunotherapy to target...

1. With respect to angular subtense, a source of light, such as a star, that is very small. In a lab, a point source may be...

A process involving the interaction (absorption, emission or both) of two or more photons with a molecular entity.

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 charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a...

Two electrodes that shift the electron beam vertically on a cathode-ray tube screen using electrostatic deflection.

The superposition of satellite or aerial images with a map in order to process and remove distortion. Uses reference points...

Equipment used for chemical analysis by investigation of the spectra formed and observed in chemical activity. Of particular...

Elastic deformation of a dielectric caused by volume force when the dielectric is placed in an inhomogeneous electric field.

A device used to delay transmission of a signal for functions such as memory loops, sequential processing or built-in...

An optical circuit, either monolithic or hybrid, composed of active and passive components, used for coupling between...

Increase in the diameter of an initially collimated beam, as measured in milliradians (mrad) at specified points; i.e.,...

A calculated function that can be achieved experimentally with interferometric analysis of complex atmospheric altitude;...

A mixture of phosphor with a trace of a radioactive element that emits faint light continually. It is used on watch dials...

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

A device to modulate spatially a collimated coherent beam of light with input data in optical data processing. It uses a...

In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision...

A system for automatic industrial process control or measurement, consisting of an optical module for image acquisition, a...

The formation of transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and other electronic elements directly on a flake of silicon by...

A multilayer antireflective thin-film coating, so called because its reflectance rises steeply at wavelengths above and...

A device that detects radiation by utilizing the influence of light in forming an electrical signal. It may be a phototube;...

An optical interference technique widely utilized as a method of nondestructive testing when determining the ray deflection...

Standard maintained by the International Commission on Radiological Units as a unit of radioactivity defined as the quantity...

A term used to denote a difference in magnification along mutually perpendicular meridians. Anamorphic systems are basically...

A channel for communication with the source in an otherwise unidirectional network, such as a channel that provides...

A naturally occurring pigment in tissue that may selectively absorb certain wavelengths and can be used to aid in targeting...

A device that is used to determine the index of refraction of a gas or liquid through the interference patterns formed by...

A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these...

A lidar (light detection and ranging) technique used in pollution monitoring. Two light beams are emitted simultaneously,...

A phenomenon, exploited for medical imaging, in which the nuclei of material placed in a strong magnetic field will absorb...

A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set...

Transparent glassy and or crystalline structured materials engineered from inorganic, non-metallic materials via various...

A hologram in which diffraction is produced by the silver image, resulting in a dimmer image than in a phase hologram, where...

An interferometer similar in construction to a Fabry-Perot interferometer but having a rear mirror with high reflectivity,...

A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...

A PN-PN device with incident light taking the place of gate current; three of the four semiconductor regions are available...

Reactive evaporation refers to a process in thin-film deposition where a material is deposited onto a substrate through...

Tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) is a powerful technique that combines Raman spectroscopy with the enhanced spatial...

An echelon in which the dihedral angle between the faces of the groove is 90°.

A photomicrographic recording technique that utilizes dark-field illumination to render an image of an object having a...

A photoconductive cell having cadmium sulfide as its photoconducting material for the production of a very high dark-light...

A two-dimensional scanning process, in which a slow sector scan, propagated in one direction, is superimposed at right...

A refrigeration method based on the Peltier effect. When an electric current passes through a thermocouple of two dissimilar...

A device used in broadcast CCD cameras to improve definition in heavily saturated colors by band-limiting the color...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...

Any bending of a wave of radiation away from its expected path, as, for example, by diffraction or by a magnetic field.

A transparent dielectric film, bounded by material of a lower index of refraction, capable of guiding light.

An instrument that uses a beam of light to scan a color transparency, and three differently filtered photosensors to record...

That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of...

A high-speed, narrow-field lens consisting of two achromats spaced about the aperture stop. Its uses include portrait...

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

The detection and analysis of the relative response of a material to light over the range of wavelengths.

A technique for confining atoms, molecules or small particles within one or more laser beams. This can be accomplished...

Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...

Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of...

A solid-state laser consisting of active atoms or ions of a transition metal, rare-earth metal or actinide, imbedded in a...

A crystal capable of being polarized in the reverse direction when an electric field is applied.

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

Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well...

The underexposure caused by the diffraction of light passing through small openings spaced closely together in masks used in...

A television display system in which the television signal is converted to an image that is projected onto either a front or...

A device used to compare the luminous intensities of two sources by locating a point between the two light sources where the...

Unified notation for specification of reflectance in terms of both incident- and reflected-beam geometry; i.e., the ratio of...

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...

The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...

When, for example, a beam of monochromatic light passes through a diffraction grating, the emergent rays that have remained...

Short-lived molecular or atomic particles, with an unpaired electron, that play an important part in many photochemical...

Fraction absorption over a specified range of wavelengths.

A general-purpose lens, also known as the Celor lens, used widely in photography and commercial processing; it has the form...

Propagation of electromagnetic waves through the Earth's atmosphere in a path that conforms to the curvature of the Earth...

A device used to view microfilmed documents where the image on film is projected, in magnified form, onto a rear projection...

A machine vision technique that compares a template of the desired image (the correlation kernel) with the actual camera...

A photometer that uses a wedge, marked to show its reduction of flux density, to make two light sources equal in intensity...

Plates of glass containing as many heavy metal oxides as can be dissolved in the glass without causing devitrification. The...

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric)...

In optical communications, the translation of optical signals into radio signals, lowering their frequency in detection from...

A compound crystal having two or more crystals or crystal sections that, when regularly positioned, are in reverse position...

The concave portion of a surface, formed on a blank, on which the disk of higher refractive glass will be fused to form a...

A vision defect commonly referred to as nearsightedness. The defective condition results when the image of a distant object...

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern...

A device used in measuring attenuation in optical fiber. The loss caused by the bends in a short reference length of fiber...

An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find...

A panel of photoconductive and electroluminescent layers used as either a positive or negative image intensifier, depending...

End-fire coupling refers to a method of coupling energy into or out of a waveguide, transmission line, or antenna, where the...

A telescope objective with excellent spherochromatic correction, consisting of a meniscus crown and a meniscus flint, both...

A cathode-ray tube that increases the brightness or size of an image or forms a visible image from invisible radiation. The...

Cinematography performed with the use of a microscope to film the actions of microscopic specimens.

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

A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device...

Method of preserving the measured color value and color information as it is translated from differing devices. For example...

An eyepiece combined with an erecting prism or lens system.

Measure of the amount of light that is transmitted, relative to the amount lost by absorption or reflection.

A technology that uses electrically activated holograms stored within specially developed crystals to route information in...

An InGaAs photodiode refers to a photodetector device that is constructed using a semiconductor material composed of a...

The process by which the values of one digital image of an object or scene are removed from a second slightly different...

A data transfer function that moves a rectangular group of pixels between bit maps. Often used in displaying cursors and...

A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth...

The material favored for study of interaction of high-acoustic intensities with free carriers. Tellurium is the...

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

The interference pattern formed by light waves diffracted at the edges of an object as seen on a screen placed in their path.

Expression of the nondimensional coefficient of the heat transfer in a convection process.

A telescope that corrects dispersion and spherical aberration through the use of one or more lenses, usually smaller than...

A single band in a group of light and dark bands that can be viewed in the periphery of Fresnel diffraction shadow.

The reproduction of a picture or image, produced by scanning the image and converting it into electrical signals that carry...

Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...

A photoconductor that demonstrates increased conductivity during its exposure to infrared radiation.

A spectroscope having a diffraction grating for the resolution of light of various wavelengths.

Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main...

An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet...

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to...

The thin edge of a refracting prism; the line of intersection of two refracting surfaces of a prism.

In a charge-coupled device, the detection of charge collected by the transport register rather than by the image-sensing...

Photonics contract manufacturing refers to the outsourcing of the production of photonics-related components, devices, or...

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are...

The nonthermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance. The photon emission resulting from...

An aerial reconnaissance system that can transmit, in near real time, image data recorded by IR and visual-spectrum sensors,...

The condition in which the index of refraction in an optical fiber varies as a parabolic function of the radius.

A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the...

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

A recorder that plots, on a chart, the interaction between two variables, not directly representing time.

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

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...

The addition to the information signal in communications of redundant bits that enable the originally encoded message to be...

The interaction of charged particles and electromagnetic fields.

Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct...

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

1. In visual perception, the minimum value of stimulus that can be perceived on the average. 2. In optical detection...

The ratio of the diameter of the entrance pupil in an optical system to the equivalent focal length of that system. The...

A type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at...

A finite version of Shannon's sampling theorem that states that a class of functions can be reconstructed exactly by a...

A subtractive colorimeter that expresses a liquid's or object's color as a combination of three colors. These colors are...

A special evacuated camera equipped with means for holding a specimen and bombarding it with a sharply focused beam of...

A reflecting prism that inverts the image. The image is reflected four times internally and emitted laterally. The prism is...

A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of...

A zone plate in which the zones are alternately transparent and opaque to specific radiation, and coarse enough so that no...

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

A large telescope mirror fabricated from several smaller sections.

Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy...

The electrostatic field acting locally within a crystal as a result of the microscopic arrangement of atoms and ions in the...

Phototoxicity refers to the harmful effects caused by exposure to light, particularly intense or ultraviolet (UV) light, on...

Commonly performed in spectroscopy, the optical null process is a method for radiation detection whereby physical detectors...

In a fiber optic transmission system, the conversion of received optical pulses directly to an electrical signal.

A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in...

Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These...

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It...

The light spectrum formed by an explosive reaction or by the electrical explosion of a metallic wire by a strong current.

A three-terminal semiconductor having only one PN junction and a stable, open-circuit, negative-resistance property.

1. The faintly hued ring that is seen to surround a light source viewed through fog or light clouds. The size of scattering...

A special laser glass made primarily of fluoride compounds that exhibits extremely low refractive index and allows greater...

An optical material used in place of crown glass to produce lenses with extraordinary correction of chromatic aberrations....

Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors,...

The line that divides the two half-images in a coincidence rangefinder. The two halves of the images formed by the two...

A film or plate that is usually coated on both sides with a very fast emulsion that is sensitive to x-rays, and used to...

An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...

An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite...

The ratio of the power of a plane-polarized beam that is transmitted through a polarizer placed in its path with its...

An instrument used to detect and measure radiant energy by the formation of a chemical reaction.

A material that produces stimulated emission during the process of amplification with a laser system.

A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It...

A lens designed for projection of color transparencies.

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the...

The substrate upon which a diffraction grating will be ruled. It must be dimensionally stable, and the surface must be...

Lenses or prisms that serve to erect the image; i.e., to bring the image upright after it has been inverted by the objective.

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

Fixed-pattern noise is the measure of the static (nontemporal) differences between pixels when the detector is evenly...

With respect to photography, the law stating that the optical density of an exposed emulsion with standard development is a...

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....

The ray that has an isotropic speed and maintains a uniform polarization in all propagation directions when traveling in a...

Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and...

One of a class of crystalline substances belonging to triclinic, monoclinic and orthorhombic systems that have two optic...

A measure of the closeness with which an optical image is capable of resembling the original object. The factors that affect...

That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the...

A technique for detecting and measuring atmospheric pollution, in which an oscillating mirror directs half the incoming...

A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...

A microscope that has an annular stop in the lower focal plane of the condenser, and a quarter-wave retarding and absorbing...

A type of change in the energy levels of molecules in a laser that results in lasing action. Vibronic transitions are those...

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

A caustic formed by reflection.

A variation of tomography, which is a means of visualizing any one of a large set of parallel planes in the patient. A...

A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and...

A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to...

A technique used to create a series of interrelated holographic images that give an appearance of motion when projected in...

The formation of a dark-colored film on a metal surface by chemical activity.

A filter that allows heat radiation from an incident beam to pass without absorption or reflection.

A source of light will not cast a distinct shadow of an interfering, opaque object, but will cast a shadow having two parts:...

In optics, the production of maxima and minima by the superimposition of two sets of interference fringes from light of two...

The ratio of active to inactive areas on a pixel.

A device for forming at least two adjacent areas of polarized light. The angle between the directions of vibration of the...

A telescope with an ellipsoidal secondary concave mirror that reflects rays from a parabolic primary mirror through an...

A technique whereby the sample is illuminated by a hollow cone of light larger than the acceptance angle of the objective,...

Ratio of the radiance of the specimen to that of a perfect reflecting or transmitting diffuser identically irradiated.

An instrument used to measure the refractive index of solids and liquids. Several types exist, the most common being the...

Theoretical calculation of the cross section for a nuclear reaction given in the vicinity of a single resonance level in the...

1. In fiber optics, a protective material applied as an optical fiber cover that has no optical function. 2. In image...

The use of a small ultrastable master oscillator (a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser) to achieve single-frequency operation of a...

A collimator having, at one end of a tube, an objective lens, and at the other, a reticle with a pair of spaced lines...

A device that is designed to modulate a beam of light, usually from a laser source, by acting upon the beam directly. The...

Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...

The effect that characterizes an intense laser beam that is passed through an absorbing medium, causing the absorbed energy...

The transition boundary between P-type and N-type materials in a semiconductor.

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...

The alteration and reduction of color with the addition of white light. The perceived color shift that occurs as the...

A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The...

Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic...

In image processing, mathematical operations that change spatial geometry, as for instance scaling, translating, rotating or...

A radioactive element that is placed or injected into a system to obtain an autoradiogram of the system. It is used in a...

Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically...

An optical system that records inhomogeneities within a medium by detecting the energy refracted by that portion of the...

The angle through which a ray of light is deviated by a refracting or reflecting surface, or a prism; the angle between an...

A configuration or device mounted at the end of a fiber or cable that is intended to prevent reflection.

A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since...

The force acting upon a charged particle as it moves in a magnetic field, proportional to the particle's charge and velocity.

Optical glasses containing the oxides of rare earths such as lanthanum to impart a very high refractive index combined with...

A calorimetric calculation from which the temperature vs. time dependence of any point on a sample can be determined,...

The frequency space between consecutive transmission peaks in the transmission spectrum of a Fabry-Perot interferometer or...

A double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens...

A contour mapping technique that uses electronic scanning and sampling techniques instead of a reference grating (see moire...

1. Calculated distance between two exactly opposed points on a beam at a chosen fraction of peak power (typically 1/e2). 2....

Term synonymous with refractive index liquid, but related more to tank or chamber immersion of crystals, fibers, lenses,...

A plate of glass, usually a photograph, on which there is a central spot surrounded by concentric annular zones, alternately...

1. The near total absorption of plane-polarized light by a polarizer that has an axis perpendicular to the plane of...

A phase screen, in the context of optics and wave optics, refers to a surface or medium that introduces a phase delay to an...

The application of coherent wavefront techniques to the determination of the physical state of a system without appreciably...

An optogenetic technique that embeds genetically-engineered proteins to the heart to aid in terminating arrhythmias. After...

The intensity distribution seen when scanning the image of a line, in the direction perpendicular to that line.

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...

Successive layering of resistive, dielectric and conductive inks on a substrate by a type of screening process.

Parametric measurement for elliptical fiber and cable expressed as a ratio of the two-directional flow of power through the...

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

Name originally given to the sun's infrared radiation by Sir William Herschel in his Philosophical Transactions of 1800.

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

A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion;...

In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of...

An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the...

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically...

Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...

One of the types of change in the energy levels of molecules or atoms in a laser that can result in lasing action. Because...

A two-flux theory in which the radiation is assumed to be composed of two oppositely directed radiation fluxes through a...

A type of 45-90-45° prism used to bend a beam of light through a right angle with the surfaces forming the 90° angle...

An instrument for detecting or measuring small electric currents.

In optics, the double refraction that is produced when stress is applied to a transparent material. Plastics, which are...

A vacuum gauge designed to measure very high degrees of vacuum by thermal conduction.

Best point of focus for an image in a beam of light at the smallest cross section of the beam.

Fluorescence microscopy is a specialized optical imaging technique used in biology, chemistry, and materials science to...

A laser device used to establish a location or target usually for detection by an impact source e.g. missiles and guided...

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific...

A chart of an x-ray diffraction pattern.

A photographic objective that uses the thick meniscus principle to obtain its power. It is designed to photograph small...

Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the...

The bending of an electron stream that occurs when the stream travels through a medium such as very thin metal foil.

A geometric representation of a light path through an optical device; a line normal to the wavefront indicating the...

Popular process for silicon and polycrystalline production that consists of an alteration of the original state of a...

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate...

Pertaining to materials having the property of reflecting a part and transmitting a part of the incident radiation.

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

Two formulas used in diffractometer analysis, the first giving the individual diffraction patterns of each aperture, the...

Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple...

A wave of radiation that has undergone refraction.

The process whereby sound waves are employed to form a three-dimensional image of an object. The process involves generally:...

A positioning drive that rotates a fraction of a 360° turn when the motor coils are activated, resulting in linear or...

A type of laser welding that produces short-duration vapor pockets without buildup of heat in the part, useful for parts...

A superthin, highly reflective mirror.

A device utilizing an electron beam for the observation and recording of submicroscopic samples with the aid of photographic...

A whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is...

The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...

The detection and measurement of nuclear and x-ray radiation.

The properties exhibited by a semiconductor as the result of its modification by imperfections and impurities in the crystal.

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

A communications system that can transmit in only a single direction at a time. See duplex.

A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range,...

Dispersion characterized by an increasing index of refraction in the medium as the frequency of the propagating light...

The effect whereby a light beam is deflected by a birefringent prism when its polarization is changed by voltage applied to...

A method of projecting integrated circuit patterns on a silicon wafer using x-ray wavelengths focused through a special mask.

When applied to LCD grids, the active matrix is a means of supplying power to pixels by use of a transistor and capacitor....

A nonabsorbing, multireflecting device, similar in design to the Fabry-Perot interferometer, that serves as a multilayer,...

A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific...

An arc discharge tube having a grid that is used to start the discharge through an atmosphere of inert gas or vapor at low...

An electronic device consisting of a semiconductor material, generally germanium or silicon, and used for rectification,...

A term for the ring-shaped stop in a phase contrast microscope. The phase annulus limits the amount of light that reaches...

The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...

A shower of cosmic rays whereby a high-energy electron produces one or more photons that convert into electron pairs, the...

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...

The relative power emitted by a source as a function of wavelength. It determines the color-rendering properties of the...

The radiation emitted in semiconductors when electrons in the conduction band recombine with holes in the valence band. If...

A measure of the sensitivity of a detector; the reciprocal of noise equivalent power (NEP). See D*.

A photosensitizing drug used in conjunction with photodynamic therapy.

A camera equipped with a lens and a long length of perforated film, the latter being moved intermittently between exposures...

A two-mirror lens design used in astronomical telescopes, the primary being a parabola, the secondary a smaller hyperbola....

Scanning characterized by the generation of a plane or right circular cone with a vertex angle of about 180° by the...

The property exhibited by a substance having electrical conductivity that decreases as the intensity of the incident visible...

A form of roof prism used to invert an image. The prism has faces cut normal to the optical axis; therefore, the prism may...

A function of the intensity distribution in an image aberrated by a quadratic curvature wavefront distortion.

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

Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new...

The second adjustable iris diaphragm in an optical system. In the common microscope condenser system, it usually is located...

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

The change in refractive index that occurs as acoustic vibrations are transmitted through an optical material.The index...

A prism having several plane polished surfaces, some to transmit light, some to reflect light, and some to serve both...

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

The physical area containing an assembly of computer graphics equipment for presenting generated images and allowing...

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision...

The selective absorption of electromagnetic waves by a liquid made up of molecules with permanent dipole movement.

A fluorescent screen refers to a phosphorescent or fluorescent-coated surface that emits visible light when exposed to other...

A photoconductive cell that uses thallium oxysulfide as the light-sensitive medium.

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and...

Capacity of a vision system to capture an image of an object in motion and to resolve the direction and speed of that motion.

An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an...

A connection, typically made up of one or more cables, between a laser head and a separate power supply. Flexible pipes or...

The calculated normal distance from a photon source at which harmful interaction with the incident light will occur....

Prediction based on observations of nuclear masses in the valley of stability that indicates the maximum number of electrons...

In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit...

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to...

The study of radioactive substances and high-energy radiations such as x-rays and g-rays.

The maximum to minimum range of temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration and biological conditions under which an optical...

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

In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and...

The relative path difference (or phase shift) traveled between two rays that pass through different mediums from the same...

In a CD-ROM disc, the reflective area between nonreflective pits representing a binary-language "off'' as opposed to...

In chemistry, a halide refers to a chemical compound containing one or more halogen atoms bonded to another element. The...

A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a...

A type of interferometer in which two coils of optical fiber are arranged so that light from a single source travels...

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...

Participates in a reaction only in the presence of light and radiant energy. Besides 3D printing, photoreactive agents also...

In a cathode-ray tube, the visible line or lines formed on the screen by the deflection of the electron stream.

Laboratory experiments that focus on demonstrating new capabilities of a certain technology or device, usually without...

An optical fiber, usually a single-mode fiber, that has an outer cladding with nearly the same index of refraction as the...

The thin, transparent film made up of specific substances applied to glass-air surfaces for the purpose of decreasing the...

A device used to detect and measure small amounts of rotation. The rotating object contains a reflecting surface from which...

A graphic reproduction of an object formed by a microscope or another optical system. Also an instrument used to make tiny...

Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs...

Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the...

A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.

A plane along which destructive interference takes place.

1. Voltage at which a PN junction begins to pass a current. 2. In a solid-state lamp, the voltage at which light is first...

An equation that uses the wavelength of light passing through a medium, along with a set of coefficients, to calculate the...

The method used to determine the refractive index of a given substance.

The photochemical reaction of light present in the decomposition of a substance.

The branch of optics that deals with the study of the refraction of light, particularly by the transmitting medium of the...

A compound prism formed by cementing together two 30° prisms, one of right-handed and one of left-handed quartz. It has...

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

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, in vivo imaging...

A ruticon is an opto-electronic device in which light going through it can be modulated by an electric field. The...

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

An amplifying device with a wide tuning range in which an electron gun sends a beam of electrons into a slow-wave structure....

Derivative of the half-tone screen process involving the fabrication of a binary pulse-width modulated copy of the...

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

A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used...

A technique for depositing a material coating on metal, ceramic, semiconductor or polymer substrates. The interaction of...

A television camera tube in which a low-velocity electron beam scans a photoactive mosaic that has been created by an...

Family of deterministic models of plant canopy reflectance that provides deterministic formulation for each necessary...

In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities...

A wave whose surfaces of constant phase are infinite parallel planes normal to the direction of propagation.

In coherent optical communications systems, a laser used at the receiving end to produce a steady wave that is combined with...

A device that functions throughout the continuous radiation of a linearly polarized plane wave, and whose nonreciprocity...

Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the...

Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to...

A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...

A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format....

A type of photoconductive detector in which germanium, usually doped with boron, gallium and indium, serves as a...

A single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known...

Voltage that produces current flow in the direction of greater resistance to the steady-state direct current; i.e., from the...

The variation of the electronically detected signal with respect to the scaled version of the classical optical signal...

A broken circle used as the test object in distinguishing visual acuity. The width of the gap in the circle is equal to the...

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to...

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical...

A technique used in photolithography of computer chips to compensate for errors caused by the proximity effect, which...

A laser using a dye solution as its active medium. Its output is a short pulse of broad spectral content and its achievable...

Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) is a superresolution microscopy technique that enables imaging of...

A computer-generated routine for achieving true-temperature readings in thermal infrared imaging systems.

Two lenses, separated by a distance equal to the sum of their focal lengths, and retroreflecting mirror assemblies, one of...

In a silicon photodiode, the dynamic resistance (dv/d1) of the junction at zero volts.

The arc formed when the rare gas xenon is excited electrically and emits a brilliant white light. Xenon is used to fill...

The spontaneous emittance of electromagnetic radiation by the nucleus of certain radioactive elements during their quantum...

A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical,...

A crystal diode whose rectifying activity is determined by the touching of the crystal to a finely pointed wire surrounded...

Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...

A form of mirage where objects near or just below the horizon appear in enlarged or distorted form because of atmospheric...

The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or...

A hologram formed by reconstruction of multicolor wavefronts. The system used to produce the hologram is designed to combine...

Analysis of the reflection spectrum that allows the determination of the experimental dielectric function.

A double block formed by placing two adjoining, equally thick sections of quartz, one being dextrorotary, the other...

Laws that predict the maximum power output as a function of tube diameter for a hydrogen cyanide laser of a given discharge...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...

An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...

A blank whose basic surface curves are attained by heating and forming a given weight of raw glass; a rough glass blank...

A technique of optical storage whereby information is encoded by molecular alterations in the interaction between the...

The production of rough glass lens blanks that are pressed while red-hot to the approximate size and shape of the finished...

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

A radiation detector with its active medium mounted within a lens that focuses the radiation signal. The improvement in...

In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal...

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

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

A laser system consisting of a planar PN junction within a single crystal of gallium arsenide. The pair of parallel,...

The measurement of first- and higher order properties of a lens and its formed image, including effective focal length, back...

Photoconductivity that may be extended as far as the microwave region because of the absorption of photons by electrons.

A nondestructive testing method for very large scale integration circuits, using a scanning electron microscope to monitor...

The process of subjecting glass to temperature cycling to produce physico-chemical reactions that alter its properties....

An instrument designed to measure the numerical aperture of an objective.

Phototherapy is a medical treatment that involves the use of light to treat various conditions, particularly those related...

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic...

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

A cathode-ray tube that serves as a picture tube in a television receiver. The signal representing the picture intensity is...

An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...

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

A filtering device that detects what is new in a scene of interest. Often compared to that of a temporal high pass filter,...

A shallow, fine-pitch diffraction grating having a precise dielectric overcoating that experimentally has absorbed...

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

Technique that defocuses activity from surrounding planes by means of the relative motions at the point of interest.

Protective material surrounding the cladding of an optical fiber that allows the fiber no play within it.

The projection of the image beam by a cathode-ray tube through a mask, where it is deflected through the suitable character...

A dielectric sphere with an index of refraction that varies with distance from the sphere center. A parallel beam of rays is...

An OLED display formed by creating an array of OLED pixels connected by intersecting anode and cathode conductors arranged...

Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds,...

An optical lens manufactured to control the transmission of light over a specified wavelength range. Low absorption lenses...

A waveguide that has a core with a lower refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding. This structure can...

Fluorescence imaging technique in which the excitation light from the objective is directed into the sample producing...

Inactive optically, but having the capacity for resolution into forms of opposed optical activity. The term is derived from...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...

A material that can rotate the polarization of light that passes through it. An optically active material exhibits different...

Focal, nodal or principal points of a lens. If the respective distances of the object and image are measured from the...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...

A doped or absorbing transparent medium cut or molded into a wedge in order to measure the real and imaginary components of...

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...

A graphic depiction of the loci of all points in space relative to a laser transmitter at a specific altitude.

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced,...

A furnace, generally electrically heated, with a control system capable of following a cam by which the temperature can be...

A camera that permits adjustments in the perspective of an image; this is accomplished by the camera design, which permits...

A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is...

Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems...

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital...

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to...

Any of several compounds capable of binding heavy-metal ions, thereby preventing interaction between the bound ions and the...

A small bulb containing a conducting gas, an arc being formed between a metal ring and a tiny zirconium electrode near the...

The distribution of energy about the image of a point source in the focal plane of an optical system.

A nonmagnetic instrument utilizing an electrofocus and deflection tube with a photocathode for imaging purposes. The optical...

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

A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to...

The fraction of incident light power in an optical modulator that is available to the output beam.

Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...

The ratio of the illuminance at the peak of the diffraction pattern of an aberrated point image to that at the peak of an...

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

A photoconductive cell consisting of a layer of selenium on a substrate whose electrical resistance varies with the...

Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...

A device that produces an interferogram that can be directly related to the temperature gradient and thereby provides a...

An instrument consisting of a high-voltage vacuum tube used to form hard x-rays or high-speed ion beams. By partitioning the...

GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data...

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

A photodetector in which an electrical charge is produced when incident photons change electrons within the detecting...

An impurity-doped silicon detector array sensitive to long infrared wavelengths, installed in optical collecting systems...

The electrical power used to stimulate any light source. Power supplies may be step-up or step-down transformers; rectifiers...

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

A well controlled thin films technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at...

A branched fiber optic lightguide that performs both receiving and transmitting functions.

The luminous flux emitted by a light source in all directions.

The arrangement of two Porro prisms so that the inverted image formed by certain types of optical instruments is the same as...

In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations...

A pair of telescopes with prismatically erected images, mounted side by side with the eyepieces at the interocular distance...

A photoelectrical relay that uses a phototube as its photoelectric device to open and close an electrical relay; used to...

A corrective lens system that is placed near the focal plane of a Newtonian telescope to increase its effective field of...

Multiple scattering method used in biological analysis in which approximations yield simple, explicit solutions, at least...

The study of the diffraction of beams of a wave by matter to ascertain the structure of the matter.

A lithography method that allows the transfer of fine-pitch gratings from a phase mask into photoresist. The exposure takes...

A fiber optic communications system that works on the principles of homodyning or heterodyning. The transmitting laser...

A miniature projecting device designed to enhance and reproduce the image generated by a smaller image-forming instrument....

The grinding and polishing of rock samples, to a thickness of less than 0.05 mm, for study with petrographic microscopes....

An optical crystal that possesses a strong nonlinear dielectric response function to optical radiation. A material with a...

The pattern, formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are made up of wave shapes...

The ejecting of ions from the surface of a material.

Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of...

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms,...

A reflection hologram using multiple color lasers that integrates various graphical techniques to allow the display of...

Two or more lenses arranged to act in conjunction with one another.

Eye blink or head movement in response to bright light. Aversion responses such as blinking are sufficient protection from...

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...

A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline...

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...

A method of producing magnified images by x-rays. The specimen is placed close to a point source of x-rays; the...

The radiation produced when a charged particle traverses a medium that has a refractive index considerably greater than...

An aberration that remains after primary color is corrected. Primary color causes the back focus of a lens to vary with...

A high-reflectance coating consisting of alternating layers of quarter-wave film of a higher refractive index and lower...

The law stating that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, the incident ray, reflected ray and normal...

A photovoltaic device that consists of multiple p-n junctions to produce a greater efficiency when in use than that of...

In image processing and machine vision, the process in which an initial measurement pattern or some subsequence of...

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

A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for...

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...

A character generation CRT that functions on the principle of secondary emission. The target holds a set of aluminum...

Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently...

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

A device that obliterates the polarization of a polarized beam by reflecting the beam in all directions at right angles to...

The use of miniature scanners to project raster-scanned video images directly onto the surface of the human retina,...

A circular optical wedge (prism of small refracting angle) mounted to be rotated in the path of light rays to divert the...

The photographic image of a thin specimen having a radioactive isotope that, formed through contact between the specimen and...

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

RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is...

In the spectral sense, an optical source that emits one or more spectrally narrow lines as opposed to a continuous spectrum....

Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a...

A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...

In spectroscopy, the parallel bands that vary in lightness and darkness or color, and that are formed when light is...

Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...

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

A system that uses a continuous-wave laser to measure the velocity of an object by focusing the laser beam on the object,...

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather...

Formula used in convection study to express the ratio of buoyant force to viscous force.

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

A material, often a liquid or cement, whose refractive index is nearly equal to the fiber's core index, used to reduce...

A television system that uses a slow rate of horizontal scanning to increase its reproduction and transmittance accuracy of...

A radar system that uses electro-optic rather than microwave instrumentation and methods to perform its acquisition and...

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in a refractive material for a given wavelength.

A wave that is polarized elliptically or circularly polarized and in which the electric field vector — observed while...

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...

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

Designed for the function of optical wavefront analysis. Shack-Hartmann camera aberration sensors use a lens array to image...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It...

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

A photocathode having a P-type semiconductor with a work function less than its bandgap. The photocathode can release a...

The simplest lens in which all primary aberrations may be corrected. It consists of two positive crown elements on either...

A magnetic-deflection mass spectrometer that has an electrostatic field placed perpendicularly to its magnetic field,...

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze...

Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...

1. In optics, the ability of a lens system to reproduce the points, lines and surfaces in an object as separate entities in...

The mean square difference in refractive index for two separate points in space.

A device used to accelerate the electrons in a free-electron laser by supplying electrical energy to the electron beam...

A laser diode with an output beam contained in the active layer by means of a built-in refractive index profile formed in...

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or...

The interferometric analysis of a complex object by utilizing the three-dimensional hologram. By causing a laser beam to...

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to...

The measurement of surface temperature by a thermograph that forms a pattern of the heat radiated by the surface on a...

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

An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light...

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...

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

Any photographic medium that, when chemically developed, produces an exact photographic reproduction of the original.

A contraction of quasi stellar. An astronomical object that appears to be a star but has a different, larger redshift.

A crystal often used for windows and refracting components in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared. Characteristically,...

The refraction that would take place in an idealized atmosphere where the refractive index is reduced uniformly with height...

A measurement method for reflectance by gas ionization in which light passes through a vapor before and after reflection....

A device having electrical resistance and used in an electric current for purposes of protection, operation or control of...

A device in which the functions of optical detector and emitter are combined.

1. One of the plane-reflecting surfaces on a multisurfaced polygon. 2. The cleaved end mirror of a laser diode's active...

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power...

A phase reflection scanner that eliminates the need for a complex translation device while maintaining a high-energy-density...

A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate...

It is often necessary to estimate the value of what a pixel would be between neighboring pixels. This is accomplished by...

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

Directional and coherent radiation pulses that result from an ensemble of coherently prepared states in an optical medium.

A hologram formed without lenses and with the object and reference points sharing the same plane. In the initial recording,...

A highly reflective mirror that is usually flat on one surface and curved on the other, and that has silver, gold or...

Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto...

A radiometric device or system having uniform responsivity relative to all of the radiation parameters, or relative to one...

One of various types of fluorescent screens used to detect x-ray radiation. Photographic film is mildly sensitive to x-rays,...

An electromagnetic device used to separate isotopes of elements based on their respective masses.

A test chart whose luminance changes uniformly in one direction according to a sinusoidal rule. These charts carry groups of...

Light that is directed or focused by means of curved reflective surfaces.

Depicting one of the two ends of an axis of rotation.

The principle that a light ray extending from one point to another will, after any number of reflections and refractions,...

A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...

A coarse diffraction grating that is used to form a scale of intensities to determine the relative magnitudes of stars. The...

A system that uses infrared detectors and related instrumentation to determine when abnormal amounts of infrared radiation,...

A set of rays through a lens originating at a common point and contained in one plane.

An antigen is any substance that is capable of triggering an immune response in an organism. Antigens are typically proteins...

A method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by measuring the reflectance as a function of position on the...

Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on...

A diffraction grating with lines and grooves formed so as to concentrate the radiation of a particular wavelength into one...

An opaque projector is a device used for enlarging and projecting images from opaque objects such as printed pages,...

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates...

A powerful and flexible machine-learning approach that can be used in machine vision to help solve difficult problems....

An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and...

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...

The optically pumped, solid-state laser that uses sapphire as the host lattice and chromium as the active ion. The emission...

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will...

In photography, the density gradient across an edge separating light from darkness, a physically measurable quantity that...

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics....

1. To influence to a single direction. 2. Voltage that is applied to a solid-state device.

The distortion of an image formed by a cathode-ray tube, caused by unbalanced deflection voltages or deflection voltages...

A curve expressing an optical fiber's total transmitted power as a function of its launch angle at the input.

The distance from the final optic within a system to the rear image point of the system. See focal length.

A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of...

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to...

A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.

A specific type of filter designed to reduce the amount of light scattered by reflections from the edges of optical...

Transparent media which, when placed in front of a light source, change their color as a result of the selective absorption...

Computation of tristimulus values by integrating or summing, over the visible wavelength region, the product of the relative...

With respect to photography, the process used to increase the effective speed of an emulsion between manufacture and...

In a reflecting telescope, the obstruction of the primary mirror by a secondary mirror which blocks a small amount of the...

A form of high-power microscope objective.

A device used to rapidly change the Q of an optical resonator. It is used in the optical resonator of a laser to prevent...

A kind of spectrograph in which some form of detector, other than a photographic film, is used to measure the distribution...

Conceptual formulas that characterize both the transmittance functions of lenses and propagation in the Fresnel zone.

The re-emission of absorbed energy, having the same wavelength as the incident energy, in an arbitrary direction from a...

The ratio of the radiant power transmitted to the second surface of a medium to the corresponding radiant power that has...

The use of photonic devices rather than electronic devices to make connections within and between integrated circuits.

A junction between semiconductors that differ in their doping level conductivities, and also in their atomic or alloy...

A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of...

The penetrating capacity of x-rays that is an inverse function of the wavelength.

A collection of color samples arranged in charts according to equal visually spaced steps in Munsell hue, value and chroma.

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing...

The bending of x-rays by the regular layers of molecules in a crystal acting like a very small diffraction grating. The...

A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The...

The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...

An optical illusion in which distant objects are lighter in tone and less distinct in outline than those closer to the...

A transmission line having no wave reflection along its path.

Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It...

A photoconductive cell having greatest sensitivity in the infrared region. The photosensitive material of the cell is lead...

An instrument capable of precise measurements of the Earth's gravity. This permits the detection of small changes in local...

An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...

The circuit that regulates an electron beam's deflection in a cathode-ray tube.

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

The ability of a machine to perform certain complex functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as judgment,...

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the...

The deflection of a beam of electrons, at regular intervals, across a cathode-ray tube screen, according to a definite...

A layer of material applied to a coated surface to protect it from physical or chemical action.

Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...

Microscopic investigation of two-dimensional areas of a three-dimensional object that can be quantitatively evaluated by...

The restricting aperture located at the front of the lens. It is usually defined as the maximum diameter of the entrance...

A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...

The parallel resistance and capacitance appearing between the active guard ring junctions in a silicon photodiode.

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

Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates,...

With respect to microscopy, light that is directed down through the objective onto the specimen and then returned by...

The collection and detection of x-rays by virtue of their ionizing properties. The ionization may be perceived directly by a...

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the...

Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in...

The position and shape of the image of a point source, as predicted by geometric optics alone. The geometric image is to be...

A compact optical projection system, mounted on or built into a helmet, and used to project data or a scene directly into...

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based...

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that measures changes in hemoglobin...

A special-purpose camera used by ophthalmologists to photograph the retina of the eye. The optical system operates through...

A measurement technique used for the rapid quantitative evaluation of surface quality based on the detection and analysis of...

A binary semiconductor compound used as a substrate or active layer for diode lasers.

In an optical waveguide, that dispersion attributable to the variation of refractive index profile with wavelength. The...

A grating that serves to provide higher resolution and dispersion than the average grating, and still has a greater free...

1. In a plane Cartesian coordinate system, the horizontal axis, or axis in the left to right direction. 2. In a quartz...

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...

Contains the light or beam path within a laser device. The oscillator uses reflective optical components that are oriented...

The property of an optical system whereby only the effects of diffraction determine the quality of the image it produces.

MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...

A material in which the refractive index varies according to changes in the light to which it is exposed. Lithium niobate is...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...

Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system...

A solid-state panel of the photoconductor-electroluminescent type. The photoconductive layer, sensitive to x-rays, is coated...

A method of measuring distance by recording a single scene from two points of perspective. Surveying instruments can be...

A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed...

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...

Three filters used in making a color print of a color negative, red, green and blue-violet, respectively. Each filter...

GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium...

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to...

Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...

An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea...

A beamsplitter is an optical device for dividing a beam into two or more separate beams. A simple beamsplitter may be a very...

A filter, partially opaque to near-ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation, that may be made by exposing and processing...

In a microscope, the physical distance between the focal points of the objective lens and the eyepiece. The standard tube...

The control of free electron movement through the use of electrical or magnetic fields, and use of this electron movement in...

The color of an object when it is illuminated by a nonisophotic source.

A common form of high-precision, ceramic-based actuator capable of moving and measuring at the nanometer level.

A caustic formed by refraction.

A hologram that is illuminated by a source from the viewer's side.

An optical system having one or more lens or mirror components that have nonspherical surfaces. These surfaces, whether...

A closed vessel with electrodes of different potentials that is used to determine how much ionization took place in a gas...

An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and...

For an electromagnetic field mode varying sinusoidally with time at a given frequency, the logarithmic rate of change, with...

Abbreviated SoC. A single chip containing all the electronic circuits required for a complete, working product. SoCs are...

The production of visible light by infrared radiation whereby the light is produced by heat and not by any direct change in...

A device for automatic exposure control in which a motor-driven diaphragm adjusts the aperture in response to a signal from...

A fiber-coupled photoconductive antenna (FCPA) is a type of optoelectronic device that combines a photoconductive antenna...

The constant equal to the unit stress divided by unit deformation, relative to all values and a substance's proportional...

A method used to compare two pictures of the same subject taken at different times. See image comparison.

A transparent block shaped accurately to reverse curvatures of the components it is used to test. By contacting an...

A microscope used either to detect selective absorption of various wavelengths by the specimen or to achieve increased...

Of all the rays passing through a lens from an off-axis object point to its corresponding image point, there is always one...

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...

The introduction of a filter into an imaging system to implement a phase contrast for an intensity mapping of a pure phase...

A Cassegrain telescope having a parabolic primary mirror, a spherical secondary mirror and a zero-power doublet in the...

A mass-relieving method whereby material is removed through the sides of a reflector in a direction parallel to the surface....

A nonradiative transition refers to a process in which an electron or an atom undergoes a change in its energy state without...

An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives...

A system employing a dark trace tube in which the opacity of the screen is varied as a function of the power of the beam.

A surgical procedure for correcting vision by reshaping the outer surface of the cornea through the use of a laser system.

Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative...

A surface that is swept out by revolving a circle about an axis that lies in the plane of the circle but that does not...

Scattering caused by the interaction between ingoing and outgoing particles of the same type, with no loss of kinetic energy.

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

Edge enhancement with a directional characteristic.

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

A type of laser spectroscopy used to measure short-lived isotopes by observing sudden bursts of fluorescence resulting from...

Ink used for writing on glass, and also for blackening the edges of lenses to prevent reflection. In the latter case, the...

1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...

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

In a remote sensing system, nadir refers to the point on the ground located vertically below the center of the system. In...

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...

That branch of spectroscopy that applies to the study of interactions between energy and atomic nuclei. The simultaneous...

The determination of the temperature of a source by the detection of its incandescent brightness.

The ratio of the intensity of the total radiation reflected from a surface to the total incident on that surface.

1. The focal point. 2. To adjust the eyepiece or objective of a telescope so that the image is clearly seen by the observer....

A chart, either printed on paper or prepared photographically on glass plates or film, that consists of 3-bar resolution...

In microscopy, the clear distance between the specimen being viewed and the first optical element of the objective lens.

In optics, a shape often given to the leading edge of a projectile. In any side view it appears as a pointed arc, while any...

Light that is emitted from a phosphor film applied to the surface of a three-layer thin film, respectively metal, oxide and...

A moving group of fluid-suspended biological species directed through separate channels by which the population is isolated....

A negative lens used to increase the effective focal length of a telescope objective.

An eyepiece located at the near end of the microscope tube. It often is a simple Huygens eyepiece, but compensating and...

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

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...

An instrument for the detection of the energy distribution of b-particles and secondary electrons.

An interference filter in which a very thin metal foil with a periodic array of square holes (inductive mesh) or a thin...

A structured light device using a rapidly rotating laser to project a beam of light that appears to the human eye as a...

Intensity of emission as a function of direction in a given plane.

A strip or annulus of glass coated with a semitransparent material such as inconel. The coating thickness, and as a result...

A technique used in radiography to determine a crystal's structure by obtaining radiographs of it in powder form, normally...

The monochromatic transparency effect produced by the immersion of a finely powdered substance (e.g., glass or quartz) into...

A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...

Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally...

In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...

A dielectric ceramic material used in laser capillary tubes because of its high electrical resistivity and high thermal...

A Pockels cell in which electrical current is applied in a direction orthogonally to that of the light beam.

A lens assembly made up of three lens elements that may or may not be cemented.

In atmospheric optics, the almost total blocking of light transmission in the atmosphere due to the scattering and...

Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for...

An instrument designed to give precise and rapid detection of changes in tumor growth as well as the location of small...

A bright spot or point, due to Fresnel diffraction, that appears at the center of the shadow of a circular object in light...

An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e....

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

The layer of material in a laser diode from which the optical radiation is emitted; light producing region

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...

A device for projecting either opaque matter or transparent slides onto a screen.

Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...

Substances that exhibit the characteristics of both acids and bases and are capable of both P- and N-type conductivity.

An optical reflector with the reflective coating applied to the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates the ghost...

Use of a photoelectric receiver to sense an object's presence by detecting a small amount of the emitter's light that is...

A projection printer that is capable of reproducing a multiplicity of images from a master transparency on a single support...

A camera tube widely used in television broadcasting. It consists of three sections within a single vacuum envelope. 1. A...

The lowest frequency at which the magnitude of the fiber transfer function decreases to a specified fraction of the zero...

A flanged or plain ring with a restricted aperture, located in an optical system at any of several points, that cuts off...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...

A scattering photometer using scattered light in the solid angle 4.51+0 19° with respect to the forward direction, and...

Multiple, interconnected circuit elements, contained on or in a common substrate, that function as a unit and not separately.

An array of active optical devices (modulators, laser diodes and/or detectors), each of whose electrical inputs or outputs...

A dark-field microscope used to view extremely small objects. These objects are suspended in a gas or liquid in an enclosure...

Component that is externally controlled via electronic or photon signal.

The apparent luminance of the image as seen through an optical system. This brightness of the image is determined by the...

A solar cell that is lightweight and flexible because of its construction by vacuum deposition of a semiconductor material...

An area in which airborne particulates can be monitored and controlled so that given size particles do not exceed a...

A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect...

In physics, the law of reversibility is often associated with the concept of reversibility in thermodynamics. The law...

Potential alternative to the conventional pulse approximation method of digital image processing because of its highly...

A dye laser cell configuration in which the dye flows in the direction of the axis of the laser, yielding symmetrical energy...

The subtractive imbibing process of transferring color prints on paper whereby the dyes from three separately prepared...

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

Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...

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

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

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an...

In multifocal spectacles, a term used to denote glass with a high refractive index that has been fused to the blank and...

The use of two lasers as a master-slave pair in order to control frequency and prevent chirp. When light from the master is...

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...

Also termed eye distance. The distance between the vertex of the last optical surface of a visual optical system and the...

A laser that relies on chemical activity instead of electrical energy to produce the pumping action necessary to form pulses...

The angular change of an incident beam due to vibrational induced refractive index changes within a crystal.

A waveguide with a rectangular cross section that is composed entirely of dielectric materials.

The photographic record of the diffraction pattern formed when x-rays pass through a crystal.

A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and...

The observation and measurement of the flatness of a mirror surface by contacting an optical flat with the mirror. The...

A telescope with a concave paraboloidal objective mirror and a small plane (diagonal) mirror that reflects rays from the...

A means of illumination from which the infrared component has been removed by absorption or reflection filters within the...

A narrow linewidth optically transmissive or reflective component intended for use with a highly monochromatic or single...

The high-speed electrons and positrons emitted by radioactive materials.

The angular difference in the direction of an object as seen from two points of observation. The angle subtended at the...

Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...

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

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...

The decrease of a component's efficiency, or a reduction in a material's light sensitivity, as the result of accumulated...

Characteristic of radiation detectors that produce energy that is similar to the energy of superconductive gaps when...

Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the...

Pertaining to the manner in which light is reflected, as by a mirror or speculum.

The graphed curve illustrating the directional reflectance of a sample for different angles of collection.

The square of the ratio of the measured detectivity to the theoretical maximum detectivity.

A mirror whose percent reflectance varies as a function of position on the mirror surface.

The pattern of lines traced by rectilinear scanning in display systems.

The use of computer systems for monitoring and controlling industrial production.

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

Also known as reversed telephoto lens. A lens consisting of an ordinary objective with a negative component near its front...

The representation of arbitrary functions as the superposition of sinusoidal functions whereby the representations...

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

STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence...

The absorption spectrum of an element influenced by a magnetic field in the same direction as the transmitted light, which...

A laser diode in which the beam is confined to the region of the active layer with gain high enough to accomplish such...

Wide-field fluorescence microscopy uses either naturally occurring structures or staining with fluorescent tags that are...

Transmittance of a stable solution is an exponential function of the concentration of the absorbing solute.

An electrically conductive layer for carrying off static charges that might accumulate on a surface.

Dispersion that occurs when the medium's index of refraction decreases as the frequency of the propagating light increases....

A function used in a convolution filtering operation. The image to be filtered is convolved with the filtering kernel to...

Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the...

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...

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

A method of fabricating an optical waveguide by melting the core and clad glasses in two suitably joined concentric...

1. The ring patterns of light that seem to encircle particles in the field of a microscope. 2. See Newton's rings.

The use of retroreflective projection technology (RPT) to project a background image onto a masked object, such as a vehicle...

Flux per unit area measured normal to the direction of propagation of the flux.

Photoconductivity due to the addition of impurities or external causes.

Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...

That property of a substance that determines that there will be a decrease in conductivity when exposed to light radiation.

The progressive defocusing of a cathode-ray tube display image that occurs when the deflected electron beam impinges on the...

An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection...

The organ of vision or light sensitivity.

In spectroscopy, the false images arranged symmetrically on both sides of the true line and caused by irregularities in the...

An optical tooling instrument consisting of an objective lens, a focusing lens, an optical micrometer, a reticle and an...

An instrument used to detect radioactive materials: alpha particles or helium nuclei; beta particles or free electrons; and...

Luminous flux emitted by a source in a given range of directions; the unit of measure is the lumen/steradian, now known as...

An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...

A method of creating real three-dimensional models by using lasers driven by CAD software. In contrast to the normal...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...

Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...

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

Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...

Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic...

Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...

The coefficient termed by Callier as the ratio between the density of photographic negatives measured by parallel light and...

A laser capable of generating light pulses that last only a few femtoseconds. This can be achieved by nonlinear filtering to...

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

The creation of a planned sequence of data input that is obtained while airborne for use in aerial photogrammetry and other...

1. A device designed to convert the energy of incident radiation into another form for the determination of the presence of...

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...

The angle formed between a refracted ray and the normal to the surface. This angle lies in a common plane with the angle of...

Property of a surface which, because of directional reflection, is responsible for the degree to which reflected highlights...

A general term referring to the situation in which an image is not a true-to-scale reproduction of an object. The term also...

A form of high-power microscope objective where the space between the object and the first element is filled with an oil...

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

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often...

A contraction of "excited dimer." The term refers to an excited species made by combination of two identical atoms...

A dispersion relation defined in order to value the reciprocal amount of dispersion. It is defined as the refractivity over...

A device in which slab geometry internally compensates for thermal-optic distortion; the solid host material -- glass or...

A scanning probe microscope that analyzes the surface of a specimen by recording the intensity of light as it is focused...

The range of angle or solid angle values by which light may enter an optical system.

A crystal that may serve as a diffraction grating if mounted effectively.

A contraction for "texture element." A base unit used in computer graphics that defines the surface of three-dimensional...

Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...

Technology that corrects the shape of reflective optics; primarily applied in large telescope systems, in order to...

The principles and techniques involved in the use of telephotometers to measure atmospheric extinction.

Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components...

Light-absorbing material that is applied to the back support of any bright image under inspection to prevent the formation...

For a lens with an obscured or noncircular aperture, the focal length divided by the effective aperture.

The interval between direction of signal to a light-emitting diode and attainment of 10 percent output current in the...

Fraction of light counter propagating collinear with the incident source. Processes considering backscattering are Raman,...

The deflection of an electron beam by the action of an electrostatic field that has a component perpendicular to the...

A means of determining a prism's index of refraction by placing the prism so that its emergent face is perpendicular to the...

Phototheranostics, a portmanteau of "photo" (light), "therapy," and "diagnostics," refers to an emerging field that combines...

When light is transmitted through matter, part of the light is scattered in random directions. A small part of the scattered...

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby all the processing elements are operating under their own local...

A group of solar cells that are electrically contacted and physically arranged so that they may be oriented in the direction...

Light diffracted by a solid (usually quartz in crystal or fused form) traversed by acoustic waves. If the ultrasonic...

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

Characteristic of a reflector that reflects light along a different line or lines than that of the incident ray.

A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to...

The angle through which a beam is deflected.

The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent...

A sheet of plastic material containing microscopic crystals of herapathite or some other similar substance that transmits...

A light-sensitive detector having a chemical compound that reacts when exposed to light. It is used in photochemistry and...

Reflectance in a specified direction, for a specified direction of incident illumination.

A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...

In positioning, the friction that prevents immediate motion when force is first applied to a body or surface at rest.

The absorption index represents the imaginary component of the complex index of refraction, and not the real component. The...

A chamfer or protective bevel.

A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are...

An automatic scanning instrument that is used to study a substance's fluorescence over a wide range of wavelengths. It...

The incident ray, the normal to the refracting surface at the point of incidence of the ray at the surface, and the...

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

The partially reflective mirror at the end of the laser cavity that is the source of the beam. It controls the coupling...

An alphanumeric display formed by a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between two sheets of glass; a transparent...

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

That layer in a semiconductor injection laser or light-emitting diode that provides optical gain.

A CCD sensor that provides feedback to the motion control system for a telescope, allowing the telescope to follow a...

Image enhancement operations that involve altering gray-scale values. For instance, brightness sliding involves adding or...

1. A bundle of light rays that may be parallel, converging or diverging. 2. A concentrated, unidirectional stream of...

Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to...

A characterization of the throughput performance of data storage systems; the EDR is the total of data retrieved divided by...

A thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of...

In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a...

The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference...

A beam instability, induced by index of refraction inhomogeneities and component damage of dirt and dust particles, that...

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

The photographic recording of an action by taking a series of still pictures at regular intervals throughout the action.

A pair of long, slender parallel apertures used in experiments on diffraction and interference.

A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...

Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...

The determination of the relative phase shift of an image as a function of frequency. A phase change of 180° with...

A camera system that uses a fine powder to diffract x-rays from the specimen. A beam of monochromatic x-rays passes through...

A microscope eyepiece designed for use with apochromatic objectives. Since apochromatic objectives are undercorrected for...

A series of flanges or other conducting surfaces, usually metal, attached to an electronic device to transmit and dissipate...

Return of radiation by a surface, without change in wavelength. The reflection may be specular, from a smooth surface;...

Also referred to as primary color, this is the classic chromatic aberration of a single element caused by the variation of...

The detection and measurement of spectral reflectance, spectral transmittance or relative spectral emittance, relative to...

Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the...

A device containing two opposed quartz wedges of equal angle, one wedge being movable along its length by a micrometer...

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

The dispersion of a light ray striking the surface of a biaxial crystal, in which the resulting rays are reflected in a...

A two-electrode, radiation-sensitive junction formed in a semiconductor material in which the reverse current varies with...

A form of monochromator optical system consisting of two spherical concave mirrors used in conjunction with a movable...

A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...

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

A microscope in which laser light is delivered through single-mode fibers that replace the pinhole usually used in confocal...

A material often used in the construction of optical instruments because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion (0.9 x...

The decrease in the refractive index at the center of a fiber's core, caused by certain fabrication techniques. Also called...

Data communications network in a clearly defined geographical location, and extending no more than a few miles in length. It...

Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed...

The conduction of electricity in a gas as a result of the ions generated by collisions between electrons and gas molecules.

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

An artificial material, engineered to have a negative refractive index value, such that light or any other form of...

The circle that contains the slit, grating and primary astigmatic focus of a concave diffraction grating.

A laser having a material, such as ruby, that has an energy state structure of three levels: the ground state (1) wherein...

In biology, particularly genetics and evolutionary biology, the phenotype refers to the observable characteristics or traits...

The scattering of x-rays by the regularly spaced atoms in a crystal. The angle at which the reflection occurs is known as...

A form of an element that cannot demonstrate optical activity as a result of dextrogyrate and levogyrate effects that are...

The interaction of superimposed light from two separate sources that results in a combined intensity that is less than the...

Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...

Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the...

The point function in a wave equation that represents the amplitude.

In an optical waveguide, a ray for which geometric optics would predict total internal reflection at the core boundary, but...

A protective jacket added to an optical fiber to facilitate use in harsh environments. Armor usually consists of steel or...

The maximum number of users who are using a given communication channel. Typically, the number of users at any given time is...

The maintenance of a fixed-phase relationship across the full diameter of a cross section of a laser beam.

An optical wedge of very small angles that admits light while sealing out moisture and dirt and that may be rotated to...

Experimental method of measuring the transmission of a given sample as a function of the wavelength.

A crystalline ferroelectric material used primarily as a substrate and an active medium for thin-film optical modulators and...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...

A method of predicting the nonlinear optical effects exhibited by different molecules without synthesizing the molecules...

1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. ...

A type of distortion in which the magnification varies in different orientations, the directions of maximum and minimum...

Histology is the branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and organs...

The process by which laser emission is used in measuring fluid velocity and, more specifically, the detection of air and...

An instrument used to detect and measure the energy distribution of gamma rays. It has been used to chart the radioactivity...

1. A device used to trace out an object and build up an image. One of the most common of these types is video scanning. The...

Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...

For a Fabry-Perot interferometer or etalon, a value for the transmission bandwidth which can be calculated as the ratio of...

Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the...

One of the four functions that allows the computation of a transparent medium's index of refraction, provided the index has...

A measure of the relative difference in refractive index between two optical materials. Most commonly used in fiber optics...

Photogrammetry is a technique used to obtain accurate three-dimensional measurements of objects and environments through the...

In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This...

A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...

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

A microscope that uses a reflecting objective; often used with ultraviolet or infrared radiation.

A method of demonstration or examination using a point source illumination without the use of any projection lens between...

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution,...

Glass designed to absorb most infrared and ultraviolet radiation while transmitting most of the visible region.

A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative...

In optical character recognition, an intermediate step between character location and feature extraction.

A solar spectrograph that uses long focus concave mirrors as its collimator and camera element.

A telescope so manufactured that the image remains erect and the position of the eyepiece is unchanged as the line of sight...

A photodetector composed of a photoconductive material that, when exposed to radiation, conducts without the aid of added...

A technical specification for a consumer product drawn up by Sony and Philips. CD/I combines audio, video and text recorded...

The emission of a photon by the return of an excited carrier from the conduction band to the valence band of a semiconductor...

The technique of producing spectrograms in wavelengths beyond 120 nm by the use of a diffraction grating and a Schumann...

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

A graphic representation of a distribution function such as frequency by means of rectangles whose widths represent the...

A tough, durable, heat- and cold-resistant optical quality plastic used in injection-molded items such as streetlight...

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...

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

A lens derived from the Cooke triplet anastigmat, but with one of the crown elements split in two, resulting in improved...

A ray that has a nonisotropic speed in a doubly refracting crystal. It does not necessarily obey Snell's law upon refraction...

A vacuum tube with an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at the other. Electrons emitted from a heated...

A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that...

A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential...

The coupled pairs of electrons that carry supercurrents through the body of a superconductor, relative to a coherent...

A number that indicates the magnitude of the shift in a solid of positive and negative charges in opposite directions when a...

The imaginary line passing through both the centers of curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens or mirror; the optical...

Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...

In a dual-ring local area network, a node that is connected only to the primary, active ring and not to the secondary ring...

The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for...

In a visual optical system, the axial distance from the last mechanical surface of the eyepiece to the exit pupil.

The locus of the points in the field of binocular vision that are observed singly. The images of these points correspond to...

The letter form used on visual performance test charts. The overall letter height is equal to five times the thickness of...

An arrangement of optical fibers in a bundle whereby the geometric configuration of the input end differs from that of the...

The analysis of the atomic structures within crystals by means of x-ray diffraction.

Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a...

An aperture located at an image plane of an optical system that determines the size and shape of the image.

An instrument consisting essentially of a tube 160 mm long, with an objective lens at the distant end and an eyepiece at the...

A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser...

The negative distortion that causes a square grid pattern to be imaged as barrel-shaped.

Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular...

A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic...

Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...

A form of Cassegrain telescope having a concave hyperbolic primary and a convex hyperbolic secondary. This form permits the...

An image-forming system that uses mirrors rather than lenses. Such objectives are frequently used for astronomical...

The production of holograms initially from either conventional photographs or incoherent optical equipment.

A scanning process in which the greatest amount of radiation determines part of a spiral motion rotating in one direction.

Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called...

The reversal of a developed image due to the exposure of the partially developed image to actinic light.

An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...

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

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible...

A fast-action shutter inserted between one end of a laser rod and the end mirror; when inserted to prevent emission and then...

A form of a stereoscopic microscope having paired objectives, prisms and eyepieces, and invented by H. Greenough.

A type of adsorption in which the adsorbed layer is attached to the adsorbent surface by an attractive force between the...

See periscopic lens; rapid rectilinear lens.

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated...

That point in the electromagnetic spectrum at which an optical system focuses the most chemically effective rays.

The amount of energy required to raise the energy level of an atom; a necessity if the atom is to radiate energy. High...

A five-sided prism containing two reflecting surfaces at 45° to each other, and two refracting faces perpendicular to...

A colorimeter using a spinning disc made of different colored sections for colorimetric analysis.

A group of single emitter laser diodes, usually arranged vertically or horizontally with respect to each other. The power...

A factor of an equation of the Faraday effect, which is the rotation of the plane of light polarization by transparent...

A passive device, having three or more ports, in which input light from one port is coupled only to the next sequential port...

In the context of imaging, particularly digital imaging and printing, "orange peel" refers to a texture or visual distortion...

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....

A reagent is a substance or compound that is used in a chemical reaction to bring about a specific transformation or to...

Also known as an optical diode, an optical isolator is a device that utilizes the Faraday effect to suppress or redirect...

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be...

In a laser, the optical resonator formed by two coaxial mirrors, one totally and one partially reflective, positioned so...

A catadioptric lens assembly consisting of a Maksutov corrector and a spherical primary mirror.

A laser, usually employing helium-neon or other gases as the active medium, used for alignment in industrial applications.

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

Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate...

In computer graphics, intersection of a plane with a three-dimensional object to create a sectional view.

The effect in which photons are absorbed and excite the electrons; the electrons move from the valence band to the...

Device consisting of a laser diode, beam-correcting optics and collimating optics in a single housing. Also called a...

In a laser, the fraction of plasma volume used by a particular transverse mode of oscillation, a determinant of the gain...

The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such...

A type of fiber optic sensor that detects changes in pressure, vibration, sound level or acceleration by monitoring the...

In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the index varies in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis....

Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials...

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

A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized...

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

A flexible display refers to a type of electronic visual display that is designed to be bendable, foldable, or rollable,...

The determination of axially symmetric and asymmetric refractive-index distributions by use of interferometry carried out on...

The distortion that is the result of viewing a print from a point other than the center of perspective. The center of...

The optical phenomenon in which right circularly polarized light transmitted by an active medium travels at a different...

An alteration in the direction of the magnetic induction at the interface between two media of different permeability.

A transparent crystalline substance in which the refractive index of the optic axis (extraordinary axis) is different from...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...

A technique for detecting free radicals by their electronic spectra. The material to be studied is placed in a...

Device which measures the index of refraction of glass as well as the dispersion over visible range.

An acronym for communications intelligence, referring to the collection of communications signals in the VHF and UHF...

Holographic quantity expressed as the ratio of the reconstructed first-order image to that of the incident reconstructing...

A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...

In considering a field of electromagnetic energy emanating from a source, the wavefront is a surface connecting all field...