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EDU Dictionary Terms

Rockwell hardness
Rockwell hardness (Rc) refers to a method for measuring the hardness of a material, primarily metals, using an indentation...
self-phase modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...
antialiasing
In image processing, methods of reducing image defects that result from false data. Techniques include sampling, linear...
microfilm camera
A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed...
metaverse
The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...
laser pointer
Handheld optical laser device containing a semiconductor or DPSS source. The output is corrected via internal collimating...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
chemical vapor deposition
Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...
fiber optic cable assembly
A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
flow camera
An automatic camera that can record reduced images of documents at a rate of up to 30,000 documents per hour by having the...
egg-crating
A weight reducing method whereby material from the rear of a reflector is removed leaving a pattern of ribs normal to the...
camera
A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material...
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...
optical filter
An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...
saturation
1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...
digital camera
A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film...
diffuser
An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is...
moving aperture technique
Method for reducing laser speckle in which the object field comes from a real diffuse object or the reconstructed object...
baffle
An opaque shielding device designed to reduce the effect of stray light on an optical system.
periscopic lens
Two simple meniscus lenses arranged symmetrically on either side of the aperture stop, providing reduced coma, lateral color...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...
gradient-index profile
The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...
excimer laser coronary angioplasty
Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) refers to a medical procedure used in the treatment of coronary artery disease....
aspheric mirror
An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...
distortion
A general term referring to the situation in which an image is not a true-to-scale reproduction of an object. The term also...
machine vision system
A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and...
image intensifier
An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...
thermal interface materials
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...
plastic jackets
The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to...
image restoration
Filtering procedures aimed at estimating the original image by removing the blurring and noise suppression that occur during...
spectral flow cytometry
Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry...
multi-axis alignment
Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...
chirped-pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...
quantum sensing
Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...
carbonization
Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the...
laser surgery
Laser surgery refers to a medical procedure in which a laser, or focused beam of light, is used as a precision tool to cut,...
temporal Fourier hologram
A technique used to suppress extreme noise amplification during digital image reconstruction that relies on smoothing and...
color correction
The reduction in longitudinal, lateral and secondary chromatic aberrations in a lens or lens system.
in vitro
In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it...
optical fiber optic switches
Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...
photonic integrated circuit
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...
standard refraction
The refraction that would take place in an idealized atmosphere where the refractive index is reduced uniformly with height...
monomer
A molecule that has the ability to chemically combine with other molecules to form a polymer, hence being capable of being...
microfluidics
Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically...
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
oil-immersion objective
A form of high-power microscope objective where the space between the object and the first element is filled with an oil...
polarization-preserving fiber
Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its...
cold atom
Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...
damped least squares
An organizational method used in optical design computer programs. The technique produces one number (merit function) to...
Weissenberg method
The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for...
x-ray vacuum
The pressure in the gas region of an x-ray tube that has been reduced below 0.1 mm, the pressure necessary for the tube.
electroless plating
The deposition of a metallic coating, usually nickel, on a component by chemical means rather than by electroplating; the...
radiation trapping
That process by which radiation spontaneously emitted by a volume of optical materials is resonantly reabsorbed within the...
gram negative
Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...
holographic camera
A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...
infrared jamming
A countermeasure used against heat seeking missiles to reduce their effectiveness. Normally it involves the emittance of...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...
design and engineering consulting services
Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to...
optical correlation
The procedure by which the similarity of an optical signal or waveform to a reference-stored signal or waveform is...
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...
quantum-ehanced metrology
Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...
radial distortion
An alteration in magnification from the center of the field to any point in the field, measured in a radial direction from...
wedge
An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....
quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics where two or more particles become correlated to such an extent...
digital video compression
A step-by-step method of reducing the amount of data in a digital video signal to transmit or store a high-quality image....
half bandwidth
The term half bandwidth (HBW) generally refers to the width of a spectral band or frequency range at half of its maximum...
Mylar
E.I. duPont's trade name for a polyester film. The most practical beamsplitter for use beyond the 15-µm wavelength...
opaque projector
An opaque projector is a device used for enlarging and projecting images from opaque objects such as printed pages,...
infrared detector
An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...
pixel binning
Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology....
oleophobic
Oleophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or resist oils. The word oleophobic comes from the...
near-field scanning
A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest...
breakout cable
A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...
apodization
The use of a variable transmission filter at the aperture stop of a lens to modify its diffraction pattern. Reduced...
companding
A deliberately nonlinear amplitude modulation that strengthens weak signals and reduces strong signals for transmission.
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
Nichols radiometer
An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...
freeform mirrors
Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and...
arcuate displacement
Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple...
three-photon microscopy
Three-photon microscopy is an advanced imaging technique that belongs to the family of multi-photon microscopy methods. It...
otoscope
An otoscope is a medical device used by healthcare professionals, particularly ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists,...
Crayford focuser
A high-quality focuser that uses rollers rather than gears and offers smooth, precise motion while reducing or eliminating...
lock-in amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...
time-lapse optical coherence tomography
Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT...
luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...
double-clad fiber
Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...
phase matching
Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...
pulse slicer
An instrument designed for laser technology that is used to extract single pulses from the laser and transmit a portion of...
ophthalmic photography
The methods and techniques used to obtain medical photographs of the human eye. To photograph the exterior of the eye,...
phototheranostics
Phototheranostics, a portmanteau of "photo" (light), "therapy," and "diagnostics," refers to an emerging field that combines...
Ritchey-Common test
An interferometric method for describing the surface shape of large coated or uncoated optical flats. The procedure uses a...
diode-pumped solid-state laser
A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...
modified chemical vapor deposition
Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form...
negative dielectric anisotropy
State typically studied in liquid crystals in which the dielectric coefficient parallel to the director is less than the...
fluorescence
Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...
CoaXPress
CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...
centered curve
The surface curvature designed to reduce the marginal error found in the periphery of a spectacle lens.
photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...
fiber optic taper
A coherent fiber optic bundle made from fibers whose diameter changes gradually along its length. Used to magnify or reduce...
microfilm equipment
Two essential pieces of equipment used in connection with the microfilming process: a camera capable of producing, on film,...
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated...
color perception test equipment
Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The...
parallel scanning
Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather...
directed energy
Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often...
continuous wave
Continuous wave (CW) refers to a type of signal or transmission where the signal is constant and does not vary with time. In...
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
qubit
A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...
dewetting
Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
mode filter
A device used in measuring the attenuation of multimode optical fibers. A short reference length of fiber when combined with...
eye-safe laser operation
Wavelengths between 400 and 1400 nm (VIS to NIR) are focused onto the retina by the cornea. Because the retina is sensitive...
attenuator
An electronic transducer, either fixed or adjustable, that reduces the amplitude of a wave without causing significant...
mirror blank
A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
whole slide imaging
Whole slide imaging (WSI), also known as virtual slide microscopy or digital pathology, is a technology that involves the...
laser marking
Laser marking is a process in which a laser beam is used to mark or engrave a surface by altering its properties or...
etaloning
Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...
atmospheric attenuation
The reduction in luminance of a light beam due to absorption and scattering as it passes through the atmosphere.
arc flash
An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...
axis
A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body and indicating its center; a line so positioned that various...
sine wave object
An object that has a sinusoidal variation of luminance. Its image will have a sinusoidal variation of illuminance and the...
neodymium:YAG
Literally, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet. A cylindrical rod of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium that is the...
remote inspection
Remote inspection refers to the process of inspecting, evaluating, or monitoring assets, equipment, infrastructure, or...
fusion ignition
Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion...
binocular
Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to...
laser hammering
Means of correcting laser postweld shift. The correction procedure is applied to optoelectronic systems such as laser diode...
microlens array
A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each...
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
zoom
To control, by magnifying or reducing, the size of a televised image, either electronically or optically.
reduced focal length
The ratio of the first focal length of a lens to the refractive index of the medium containing the incident light; the ratio...
minimum object distance
Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system...
wide-angle lens
A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to...
achromat
An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....
nanotube
A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...
electron multiplication charge-coupled device camera
An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...
sonoradiography
The diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasonic energy to probe the body and, with the help of laser beams, a reflecting...
machine vision lighting
Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision,...
photographic radiometry
The use of photographic recording equipment to measure radiant energy. With this procedure, many measurements of radiant...
narcissus
A defect in infrared systems that appears as a dark circular area on a displayed image, caused by radiation reflecting into...
neutron drip line
Prediction based on observations of nuclear masses in the valley of stability that indicates the maximum number of electrons...
back focal length
The distance from the final optic within a system to the rear image point of the system. See focal length.
free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the...
laser photocoagulator
Optical source intended to reduce bleeding as well as to abet wound or vessel healing through cauterization, used in eye...
Abney effect
The alteration and reduction of color with the addition of white light. The perceived color shift that occurs as the...
autofluorescence
Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...
fatigue
The decrease of a component's efficiency, or a reduction in a material's light sensitivity, as the result of accumulated...
near-field scanning optical microscope
A scanning probe microscope that analyzes the surface of a specimen by recording the intensity of light as it is focused...
machine vision
Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically...
holmium laser
Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...
neutral density coating
A coating applied to a neutral density glass that is designed to reduce the amount of light evenly across the transmitted...
fluorographic lens
A lens having an extremely high aperture and used in the recording of x-ray fluorescent screen images. It often is specially...
total internal reflection fluorescence
Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...
mesopic vision
Vision at intermediate levels of luminance between photopic and scotopic vision, where both retinal cones and retinal rods...
pulse reduction factor
Factor that relates the pulse spread occurring in a graded-index fiber to that of an equivalent step-index fiber having an...
alexandrite lasers
An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite...
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...
digital signal processing
Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...
decimation
The process of reducing the size of an image by removing a certain proportion of the samples produced from the original...
laser damage threshold
The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...
equivalent air path
When a block of glass (prism, window, filter, etc.) is placed into a converging light bundle, it increases the physical...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...
camera reduction
The use of the photographic process to produce precision copies of an original image that are many times smaller in size....
neutral density wedge
A strip or annulus of glass coated with a semitransparent material such as inconel. The coating thickness, and as a result...
brightness resolution
The degree to which a pixel in a digital image represents the analog brightness of the corresponding point in the original...
frame rate
Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...
MSM photodiode
A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...
confocal resonator
A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...
flame spectrometry
The procedure applied to flame-excited line emissions to determine spectra and wavelengths.
ultrasonic
Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...
reflectance confocal microscopy
Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows for high-resolution, in vivo imaging...
low-pass filter
In digital image processing, a method of convolution that reduces random noise by replacing the value of each pixel with the...
vignetting
In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations...
balloon-borne astronomical system
Any instrument or system carried by a balloon to the upper atmosphere to measure and record atmospheric information, such as...
uniformly redundant array
Array used in coded-aperture imaging experiments with two-beam CO2 lasers that provide an artifact-free process, faithful...
coupler
1. In color development, the chemical that combines with certain by-products of the development procedure to form a dye. 2....
apochromat
An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to...
photon
A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of...
sapphire optical fiber
Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...
gram positive
Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called...
ultramicrophotography
The process of microphotography that involves the reduction of the original at a ratio greater than 100 to 1. The process is...
scattered light filter
A specific type of filter designed to reduce the amount of light scattered by reflections from the edges of optical...
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are...
solid-state laser
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...
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
stable multipass Fabry-Perot interferometer
A plane-parallel interferometer that yields extremely high contrast over a wide range of finesse values without...
photorefractive keratectomy
A surgical procedure for correcting vision by reshaping the outer surface of the cornea through the use of a laser system.
microphotofabrication
The formation of microimages for microreduction. The technique is used, for example, in the production of precision reticles...
stop down
To reduce the size of a lens aperture, which increases the depth of field.
reagent
A reagent is a substance or compound that is used in a chemical reaction to bring about a specific transformation or to...
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...
phototherapy
Phototherapy is a medical treatment that involves the use of light to treat various conditions, particularly those related...
infrared automatic mass screening
A thermal infrared imaging procedure developed for quality control of printed circuit boards. The thermogram of each board...
lateral color
Lens aberration resulting in image size variation as a function of wavelength. See also chromatic aberration.
second-harmonic generation microscopy
A nonlinear label-free imaging technique commonly used during surgical procedures for the visualization of collagen fibers...
Wadsworth mounting
A system used for gratings that consists of a concave mirror, a grating and a plate holder mounted normal to the grating to...
multiphase pinned operation
A method of reducing dark current in charge-coupled devices by holding all the clocks at negative voltage during the...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...
lens element
One optical element of a multielement lens. See optical element.
rapid rectilinear lens
A double meniscus system in which two achromatized meniscus lenses are arranged symmetrically on either side of the aperture...
Er:YAG laser
An Er:YAG laser is a type of solid-state laser that uses a crystal made of erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet...
plastic optics
Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to...
image redundancy
The multiple storage of a single image.
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other...
coated optics
Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to...
photobleaching
Photobleaching is a phenomenon in which the fluorescence of a fluorophore (a fluorescent molecule or dye) is permanently...
epitaxial
Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the...
azimuthal polarization
Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...
detector-Dewar assembly
A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...
near-field region
The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an...
extinction meter
A type of exposure meter that artificially reduces the light admitted in a sequence of known fractions until a value is...
self-absorption
In optical emission spectroscopy, the reduction in radiant power in the central portion of spectral lines arising from the...
separate absorption and multiplication region avalanche photodiode
An avalanche photodiode in which the light-absorbing area is a low-bandgap material and the PN junction is placed in an area...
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible...
optical switching
Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...
windowing
A technique for reducing data processing requirements by electronically defining only a small portion of the image to be...
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...
microfilm system
A camera copying system that can reduce originals onto 35- or 16-mm film for easy storage.
reflection reduction coating
The thin, transparent film made up of specific substances applied to glass-air surfaces for the purpose of decreasing the...
bandwidth
The range of frequencies over which a particular instrument is designed to function within specified limits. See also fiber...
solarization
1. The reduction in the developable density of a photographic emulsion that has been extremely overexposed. 2. In a laser...
orange peel
In the context of imaging, particularly digital imaging and printing, "orange peel" refers to a texture or visual distortion...
population inversion
The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated...
cryostat
A device used to maintain near-absolute temperatures for experimental procedures.
photoimmunotherapy
Photoimmunotherapy (PIT) is a medical treatment approach that combines elements of phototherapy and immunotherapy to target...
zonal aberration
Spherical or chromatic aberration in a lens having a wide aperture. It is present because the refracting power varies for...
YAG crystal
A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline...
veiling glare
Diffuse stray light at the image plane of an optical system that results in reduced contrast and resolution.
visibility meter
1. An instrument used to determine the visual range in an environment. 2. A type of photometer that artificially reduces an...
grating monochromator
An optical instrument used to isolate a narrow bandwidth of optical radiation using a diffraction grating as the dispersive...
excimer laser
An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...
compound lens
A lens composed of two or more separate elements of optical glass that may or may not be cemented together. The surfaces of...
radial distribution method
A statistical analysis of facts obtained when the intensity of x-ray diffraction is calculated at different angles. In this...
weber
The magnetic flux that, linking a circuit of one turn, produces in it an electromotive force of one volt as it is reduced to...
fiber distributed data interface
A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and...
integration time
Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a...
label-free
Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or...
superreflector
A reflector having a surface that has been superpolished to reduce residual sleeks and scratches and microroughness so that...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...
sample-and-hold circuit
A device that acquires a signal and then stores it for a specified period of time before processing, and used, for example,...
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...
atom optics
The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...
comparator
1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting...
entrance slit
The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...
lab-on-a-chip
A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single,...
concave and convex spherical mirror
Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These...
histology
Histology is the branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and organs...
light diffusion
Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...
phase-contrast microscope
A microscope that has an annular stop in the lower focal plane of the condenser, and a quarter-wave retarding and absorbing...
coherent fiber bundle
A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers...
brightfield
Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light...
quasi-CW laser
A laser that generates a succession of pulses at a high enough repetition rate to appear continuous. The pump source is...
optical character recognition
Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into...
microdisplay
A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small...
field
1. In raster scan television, one of the two scans that are interlaced to make up a frame. 2. See field of view.
microenvironmental control system
Equipment that supports microscopic live-cell imaging by managing the gas, media perfusion, temperature and other factors to...
aspheric lens
An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...
back-illuminated CCD
A CCD that has been reduced in thickness by etching so that light passes through the back layers of the CCD. This type of...
microcircuit manufacturing
The formation of transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and other electronic elements directly on a flake of silicon by...
quantum key distribution
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to...
flow chemistry
Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...
laser speckle
Sparkling granular pattern that is observed when an object diffusely reflects coincident laser light. Speckle appears as an...
ultrafiche
A form of microfiche that has an information reduction ratio that is greater than 100 to 1.
time-lapse camera
A cine camera that exposes a series of individual frames to record the changes in a subject that slowly alters with time....
quantum confinement
Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...
eye test apparatus
Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to...
laser contact tip
A surgical device used to deliver laser light. Specifically,contact tips are made with artificially grown sapphire which is...
beam profiling
Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...
videography
Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of...
attenuation
Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...
filovirus
Filoviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fevers in humans and...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...
grating beamsplitter
A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...
ultraviolet reflectance
Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...
laser lithotripsy
Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...
horizon detector
An infrared device used in satellites and rockets to determine a heat horizon for the Earth at altitudes (above 200 miles)...
iris
The adjustable membrane located just in front of the crystalline lens within the eye. The iris gives the eye its color. See...
constant variant enhancement
Technique that uses high-pass filtering to reduce the local average to zero for all regions of the picture and then applies...
dispersion-shifted fiber
A dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) refers to a type of optical fiber designed to minimize the effects of chromatic dispersion,...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
dichroism
Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the...
optical distance
The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent...
turbidity
Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These...
magnetic resonance imaging
An imaging technique used in radiology that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to produce...
Malus's law
A law that uses the square of the cosine between the plane of polarization of a beam of plane-polarized light and the plane...
prism chromatic resolving power
The chromatic resolving power of a prism is invariably stated for the case in which parallel rays of light are incident on...
extramural absorption cement
A cement used to reduce crosstalk in fiber optic bundles or plates.
wide-angle distortion
A common aberration in lenses covering large fields of view; it results in images of objects near the edge of the field...
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...
laser ablation
Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...
photovoltaic
Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...
honeycomb table
An optical test table made up of two outer layers or "skins'' bonded to either side of a honeycomblike core, usually of...
modulation spectroscopy
A method of spectral analysis in which some property of the sample is varied and the corresponding change is measured. The...
chip-on-board lights
Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...
assist gas
A gas, such as oxygen, that improves the speed and efficiency of a laser cutter or welder when applied to the work surface,...
error correcting code
The addition to the information signal in communications of redundant bits that enable the originally encoded message to be...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
time-correlated single photon counting
Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...
photochromic
Photochromic refers to a property exhibited by certain materials, typically organic compounds or dyes, which undergo...
wedge photometer
A photometer that uses a wedge, marked to show its reduction of flux density, to make two light sources equal in intensity...
STED microscopy
STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence...
Camera Link HS
Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and...
index-matching material
A material, often a liquid or cement, whose refractive index is nearly equal to the fiber's core index, used to reduce...
helium-neon laser
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...
high-pressure cloud chamber
A cloud chamber designed to maintain the gas within it at a high pressure as a means of reducing the range of the...
angle of refraction
The angle formed between a refracted ray and the normal to the surface. This angle lies in a common plane with the angle of...
holmium
A soft, malleable, stable rare-earth element. Holmium laser systems are used in surgical procedures involving the cutting...
virtual histology
Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological...
permeability
Typically represented by the Greek letter μ, magnetic permeability is the measure of a material's ability to generate and...
pushbroom scanning
Pushbroom scanning is a technique used in remote sensing and imaging systems, particularly in satellite and aerial sensors,...
diffractive optics
Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings,...
automated optical inspection
Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to...
achromatic lens
A lens consisting of two or more elements, usually of crown and flint glass, that has been corrected for chromatic...
pseudohologram
Coded image obtained optically with a nonredundant pinhole array imaging aperture.
absorption peak
An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...
crystalline axes
The axes of symmetry in a crystal structure. See also biaxial crystal; uniaxial crystal.
dilution
In chemistry, the addition of an inert substance to reduce the concentration of a species. In colorimetry, addition of white...
swept-source laser
A swept-source laser, also known as a wavelength-swept laser, is a type of laser that rapidly and continuously changes its...
aplanatic points
Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or...
tangential distortion
Optical aberration such that image magnification varies with ray distance from the optical axis in a radial distortion.
hydrogel
A hydrogel is a three-dimensional network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, meaning they have a strong affinity for...
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...
microphotograph
A photograph reduced to the microscopic scale and stored on a microfilm as seen with microfiches for the purpose of storing...
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
lay length
In a fiber optic cable, the longitudinal length required for the transmission media, wrapped around a central member, to...
insertion loss
The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a...
polarization photometer
A photometer having a pair of Nicol prisms introduced into the beam from the brighter of two sources to be compared. Turning...
CMOS image sensor
A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used...
aspheric
Not spherical; an optical element having one or more surfaces that are not spherical. The spherical surface of a lens may be...
chroma
1. Attribute of a visual sensation that permits a judgment to be made of the amount of pure chromatic color present. 2. The...
light sheet fluorescence microscopy
Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and...
q-switched operation
Q-switched operation, or q-switching, is a technique used in lasers to produce short and intense pulses of light. The term...
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be...
fluorite objective
An objective that uses the mineral fluorite in its construction to reduce the secondary spectrum. It is usually intermediate...
cryopump
A vacuum pump in which pressure is reduced by condensing gases on surfaces cryogenically cooled to about 20 K (liquid...
mode beating
In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal...
dual attachment station
In a dual-ring local area network, a node that is connected both to the primary, active ring and also to a secondary ring...
quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...
rare earth dopants
Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally...
poling
The process of aligning the crystallites in a piezoelectric material by placing a large DC field across the element at an...
linear image sensor
A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....
differential interference contrast microscopy
Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical...
endoscope
An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...
Lyot stop
A physical stop that is conjugate to the entrance pupil and is used primarily to reduce diffraction effects at longer...

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