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ICs Dictionary Terms

Gregorian telescope
A telescope with an ellipsoidal secondary concave mirror that reflects rays from a parabolic primary mirror through an...
digital camera
A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film...
cold coating
A method of applying antireflection coatings to optics that avoids the elevated temperatures normally used. A cold coating...
fresnel
A unit of frequency equivalent to 1012 cps. Named for Augustin Jean Fresnel, a French physicist known for his work in light...
autofluorescence
Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...
apochromat
An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to...
scintillation crystal
A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing...
GigE
GigE, short for gigabit Ethernet, refers to a standard for high-speed Ethernet communication, capable of transmitting data...
barrel distortion
The negative distortion that causes a square grid pattern to be imaged as barrel-shaped.
microscope eyepiece
An eyepiece located at the near end of the microscope tube. It often is a simple Huygens eyepiece, but compensating and...
surface reflection
Also known as Fresnel reflection. That portion of the incident radiation that is reflected from the surface of a refractive...
rhomboid prism
A reflecting prism that is rhomboidal in shape. It has two parallel transmitting faces, and two parallel reflecting faces;...
in vivo
In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and...
iris diaphragm
A mechanical device designed to smoothly vary the effective diameter of a lens, thereby controlling the amount of light...
scanning
The successive analysis or synthesizing of the light values or other similar characteristics of the components of a picture...
lateral color
Lens aberration resulting in image size variation as a function of wavelength. See also chromatic aberration.
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...
ray tracing
Ray tracing is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the way light interacts with objects in a scene....
transverse mode
In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the...
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are...
Bohr's frequency relation
The law given by the formula: that is, the frequency of radiation emitted or absorbed by a system when E2 and E1...
detector-Dewar assembly
A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...
ion-beam sputtering
Ion-beam sputtering (IBS) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used for depositing thin films onto substrates. It...
vacuum chamber
A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...
refractive index contrast
A measure of the relative difference in refractive index between two optical materials. Most commonly used in fiber optics...
sapphire optical fiber
Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...
ultrasonic
Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above...
metaverse
The term "metaverse" refers to a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical...
photometry
Photometry is the branch of science that deals with the measurement of light, particularly in terms of its intensity and the...
free-space optical interconnect
A type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at...
heterostructures
A method used in integrated optics; formed by growing an epitaxial layer of active material, removing it from its base and...
functional material
Functional materials refer to materials that possess specific properties or functionalities that make them suitable for...
insertion loss
The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a...
phenotype
In biology, particularly genetics and evolutionary biology, the phenotype refers to the observable characteristics or traits...
cladding glass
In fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the...
homing guidance system
A system of sensors and related instrumentation that allows a navigable object (usually a missile) to locate its destination...
optical grating
An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced,...
graphene
Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...
linear plastic
A term for thermoplastic optical materials; that is, those in which the polymer chains remain linear after heating and...
fiber optic sensor
A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or...
two-photon polymerization
Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It...
spectral domain optical coherence tomography
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...
fluence
Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area....
laser optics
Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...
Pockels cell
A Pockels cell, also known as an electro-optic modulator, is an optical device used to control the polarization of light by...
dissonance
In optics, the production of maxima and minima by the superimposition of two sets of interference fringes from light of two...
texel
A contraction for "texture element." A base unit used in computer graphics that defines the surface of three-dimensional...
dichroism
Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the...
bandgap
In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....
gram negative
Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...
automatic profiling
In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This...
microbubble resonator
A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It...
video graphics array
A display standard no longer in use and originally defined for IBM PCs, with 640 3 480 pixels in 16 colors and a 4:3 aspect...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...
pyroelectric infrared detector
Unlike the thermocouple or bolometer, the pyroelectric infrared detector is a current source with an output proportional to...
image enhancement laser
A semiconductor platelet laser that emits a coherent image by means of plane optical pumping over the platelet surface, and...
optical time-domain reflectometer
An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...
broadband filter
A broadband filter is an electronic or electromagnetic device designed to pass a range of frequencies or signals within a...
fluorescence microscopy
Fluorescence microscopy is a specialized optical imaging technique used in biology, chemistry, and materials science to...
catadioptric imaging system
A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and...
internet of things
The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects...
linear receive optics
Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly...
liquid crystal
Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid...
low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit (LEO) refers to a region in space that is relatively close to Earth's surface, typically characterized by...
prism binoculars
A pair of telescopes with prismatically erected images, mounted side by side with the eyepieces at the interocular distance...
achromatic prism
Cemented prisms of differing refractive indices which refract incident light and, due to differing refractive indices, will...
x-ray diffraction
The bending of x-rays by the regular layers of molecules in a crystal acting like a very small diffraction grating. The...
Snellen letter
The letter form used on visual performance test charts. The overall letter height is equal to five times the thickness of...
evaporagraph
A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An...
attosecond photonics sources
Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of...
micro-optical coherence tomography
Micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT) is an imaging technique that is an adaptation of optical coherence tomography...
panoramic camera
A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is...
optical encoder
A device designed to measure linear or rotary motion by detection of the movement of markings on a transparent medium past a...
Haidinger fringes
Also known as constant angle or constant deviation fringes. The interference fringes observed with dense flat plates near...
nonlinear optical materials
Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...
polariton
A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of...
electro-optic modulator
An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an...
exciton
An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...
absolute white
A perfect diffuser that exists only as a concept, or a white with known spectral characteristics used as a reference in...
photon jet
A photon jet is a narrow, highly collimated beam of light that is formed when light interacts with small dielectric...
3D laser line profile sensor
A 3D profile sensor, also known as a 3D profiling sensor or 3D depth sensor, is a technology that is used to capture and...
die bonding
Die bonding is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics assembly, where a semiconductor die or...
scintillation detector
A scintillation detector is a radiation detection device that utilizes scintillation crystals to detect and measure ionizing...
vibrational transition
A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...
frequency comb
A frequency comb is a precise and regular series of equally spaced spectral lines, or frequencies, that are generated with...
vacuum apparatus
Equipment dependent on the effects of a vacuum. The principal applications in optics are in the coating of lenses and...
laser frequency measurement
Mod Method of obtaining precise temporal mode characteristics.
electron multiplication charge-coupled device camera
An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...
equatorial mount
A telescope stand equipped with a polar axis that can be set parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation and a declination axis...
magnitude
In astronomy, the relative brightness of a celestial body. Originally a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 represented the brightest...
exposure
In optics, the total radiant energy incident on a surface-per-unit area. It is equal to the integral over time of the...
geometric image
The position and shape of the image of a point source, as predicted by geometric optics alone. The geometric image is to be...
Kerr effect
The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where...
mid-wave infrared
MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...
micro-robotics
Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic...
concave grating
A reflecting grating ruled on a concave spherical surface that not only disperses the light but focuses the spectrum. The...
retroreflector
A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their...
high-performance parallel interface
A very high bandwidth communication line often used in fiber optics.
clear eye distance
In a visual optical system, the axial distance from the last mechanical surface of the eyepiece to the exit pupil.
steradian
The unit solid angle subtended at the center of a sphere by an area on its surface equivalent to the square of the radius;...
excimer laser coronary angioplasty
Excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA) refers to a medical procedure used in the treatment of coronary artery disease....
fiber-coupled LED
A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the...
tangential distortion
Optical aberration such that image magnification varies with ray distance from the optical axis in a radial distortion.
first-order optics
 infrared spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It...
fiber optic imaging bundle
A fiber optic imaging bundle is a specialized optical device composed of multiple optical fibers bundled together. Each...
positioning
Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or...
surface
1. In optics, one of the exterior faces of an optical element. 2. The process of grinding or generating the face of an...
anthropomorphic
Having human characteristics or behavior.
intrinsic detector
A photodetector composed of a photoconductive material that, when exposed to radiation, conducts without the aid of added...
laser texturing
Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...
optical time-domain reflectometry
A method for characterizing a fiber wherein an optical pulse is transmitted through the fiber, and the resulting light...
photoelectric exposure meter
A device consisting of a microammeter, a photovoltaic cell and a battery. It is used for the measurement of scene brightness...
whispering gallery mode
Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...
quantum dots
A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure, typically composed of materials like cadmium selenide or indium...
dichroic coating
A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...
electrodynamics
The study of the generation of electromagnetic power by radiation from high-energy beams.
Nernst glower
A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater...
radiation pyrometer
Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to...
light dispersion
The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...
Ritchey-Common test
An interferometric method for describing the surface shape of large coated or uncoated optical flats. The procedure uses a...
binocular
Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to...
PIN photodiode
A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....
photochromic
Photochromic refers to a property exhibited by certain materials, typically organic compounds or dyes, which undergo...
resolution
1. In optics, the ability of a lens system to reproduce the points, lines and surfaces in an object as separate entities in...
optical barcode reader
An optical barcode reader, commonly known as a barcode scanner, is a device that uses optical technology to capture and...
spatially offset Raman spectroscopy
Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that extends traditional Raman spectroscopy by incorporating...
stereoscopic rangefinder
A rangefinder similar to a pair of binoculars with a long base, a dot or other wander mark provided in each eyepiece field,...
transposition
In optics, the changing of the relative curves of a lens without changing its refractive value.
contrast
The apparent difference in brightness between light and dark areas of an image. For a light target against a dark...
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
optogenetics
A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue,...
binocular microscope
A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.
Rydberg atom
The term "Rydberg atom" refers to an atom in a highly excited state where one or more of its electrons are in a Rydberg...
Newtonian telescope
A telescope with a concave paraboloidal objective mirror and a small plane (diagonal) mirror that reflects rays from the...
amphoteric materials
Substances that exhibit the characteristics of both acids and bases and are capable of both P- and N-type conductivity.
electron-beam lithography system
An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and...
holography
Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and...
microchannel plate
A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle...
thermal interface materials
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...
solar furnace
An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and...
pressurization
Injecting a gas (usually nitrogen) with a very low moisture content into the body of an optical instrument to create 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...
aspheric mirror
An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...
fiber optic spectrometer
A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
ion laser
A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized...
curvilinear distortion
A lens aberration in which the focal length varies radially outward from the center of the field. It has the effect of...
refracting sphere
A transparent sphere that has an index of refraction that is different from that of the medium surrounding it; used in...
electron
A charged elementary particle of an atom; the term is most commonly used in reference to the negatively charged particle...
lidar
Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure distances and...
spectroradiometer
A spectroradiometer is a device used to measure the intensity of light at different wavelengths across the electromagnetic...
axis
A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body and indicating its center; a line so positioned that various...
vignetting
In an optical system, the gradual reduction of image illuminance as the off-axis angle increases, resulting from limitations...
strain
In optics, the mechanical tension, compression or shear in optical glass due to internal stress caused by improper cooling...
spline function
Potential alternative to the conventional pulse approximation method of digital image processing because of its highly...
oriented crystal
A crystal having the axes of its grains aligned so that they have directional magnetic characteristics.
dewetting
Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...
double-Gauss lens
A fast, wide-angle lens used in television and photographic cameras, with excellent overall correction, but subject to...
physical optics
The branch of science that treats light as a wave phenomenon wherein light propagation is studied by wavefronts rather than...
doping
In the context of materials science and semiconductor physics, doping refers to the intentional introduction of impurities...
nanotube
A nanotube, also known as a nanotubule or simply a tube-like structure, is a nanoscale cylindrical structure composed of...
ephemeris time
Uniform measure of time based on dynamics law and calculated according to planetary orbital paths; specifically, Earth's...
Gauss lens
A telescope objective with excellent spherochromatic correction, consisting of a meniscus crown and a meniscus flint, both...
de Broglie wavelength
The concept of the de Broglie wavelength exploits the wave-particle duality of quantum physics by associating all matter (of...
dioptrics
The branch of optics that deals with the study of the refraction of light, particularly by the transmitting medium of the...
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light...
Lissajous pattern
The pattern, formed by a character generation cathode-ray tube system, in which the characters are made up of wave shapes...
cathode-ray tube
A vacuum tube with an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at the other. Electrons emitted from a heated...
telescope lens
A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is...
eye
The organ of vision or light sensitivity.
common optoelectronics laser detection system
A laser warning and countermeasure system containing a sensor that indicates the direction of a laser beam, and analytical...
Galilean telescope
A refracting telescope that yields an erect image by the use of a positive lens for its objective and a negative lens for...
time-lapse optical coherence tomography
Time-lapse optical coherence tomography (OCT) refers to a medical imaging technique that captures a series of sequential OCT...
computer graphics metafile
A snapshot representation of the final image created by a computer program.
Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor
The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....
laser active elements
Laser active elements typically refers to the substances or materials within a laser system that play a critical role in the...
acousto-optics
Discipline within optical physics that addresses sound vibration, phonon effects and their influencing behavior within...
optical multimeter
An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement...
nodal points
Of all the rays passing through a lens from an off-axis object point to its corresponding image point, there is always one...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
Brewster's angle
For light incident on a plane boundary between two regions having different refractive indices, the angle of incidence at...
neutron drip line
Prediction based on observations of nuclear masses in the valley of stability that indicates the maximum number of electrons...
electrostatically focused image tube
An image intensifier that uses electrostatics to amplify and focus the electronic image.
femtosecond laser
A femtosecond laser is a type of laser that emits ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of femtoseconds,...
chroma
1. Attribute of a visual sensation that permits a judgment to be made of the amount of pure chromatic color present. 2. The...
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light...
space-division multiplex
In fiber optics, the condition in which each fiber of a bundle carries a separate channel.
absorbance
The natural log of the ratio of absorbed intensity over the total intensity which gives a constant value assuming a stable...
quantum sensing
Quantum sensing refers to a class of sensing technologies that leverage principles from quantum mechanics to enhance the...
crystalline axes
The axes of symmetry in a crystal structure. See also biaxial crystal; uniaxial crystal.
redshift
The displacement of spectrum lines, as determined by the increasing distance between, and the relative velocity of, the...
Gaussian optics
1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...
powder camera
A camera system that uses a fine powder to diffract x-rays from the specimen. A beam of monochromatic x-rays passes through...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...
resolution target
A chart on paper or glass containing a series of sets of lines at progressively smaller spacing and used to ascertain the...
double-clad fiber
Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The...
acceptance angle
The range of angle or solid angle values by which light may enter an optical system.
Ruticon
A ruticon is an opto-electronic device in which light going through it can be modulated by an electric field. The...
aerial survey
The creation of a planned sequence of data input that is obtained while airborne for use in aerial photogrammetry and other...
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...
minimum spot size
The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the...
Cassegrain lens system
A two-mirror lens design used in astronomical telescopes, the primary being a parabola, the secondary a smaller hyperbola....
computer-generated hologram
A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than...
electrocapillarity modulator
A type of optical modulator with potential application in optical switching and displays, in which applied voltage causes a...
collective lens
A convex or positive lens that serves to collect energy and direct it into subsequent system optics.
fiber optic gyroscope
A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is a type of gyroscope that uses the interference of light waves to detect changes in...
fluorescence
Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...
Barlow lens
A negative lens used to increase the effective focal length of a telescope objective.
Huygenian eyepiece
An ocular having two planoconvex lenses that are formed from similar glass and that are separated by a space equal to half...
time domain
The time domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to describe signals in terms of their behavior over...
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...
Gaussian beam optics
The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e....
polygonal mirror
A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other...
thermophotovoltaic
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of...
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or...
phage
A phage, short for bacteriophage, is a type of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Phages are composed of...
single-molecule spectroscopy
An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation....
convex
Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly...
fiber optic preform
A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It...
cylindrical lens
A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape...
ospin
Opsins are a group of light-sensitive proteins found primarily in the retinas of vertebrate and invertebrate eyes, as well...
multiplet
A group of related lines that represent transitions between two spectroscopic terms, each of which may be complex. Also in...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...
plasma accelerator
A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged...
thermograph
The instrument used to collect thermal radiation information on an object by scanning. It consists basically of a detector,...
free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the...
lab-on-a-chip
A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a miniaturized device that integrates various laboratory functions and capabilities onto a single,...
Rowland circle
The circle that contains the slit, grating and primary astigmatic focus of a concave diffraction grating.
Z-scan
A technique for determining the nonlinear optical properties of a sample material by moving the sample through a focused...
optical Fourier transform
The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...
embedded vision
Embedded vision refers to the integration of computer vision technologies into various embedded systems, devices, or...
accelerometer
An accelerometer is a sensor or transducer that measures the rate of change of velocity of an object, or in simpler terms,...
covalent crystal
A crystal formed by covalent bonds that are generally highly directional by nature. The electric characteristics of these...
2D profile sensor
A 2D profile sensor is a type of sensor used in various industrial and technological applications to measure and capture...
diode laser
A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light....
laser drift
Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...
tunneling
An observed effect of the ability of certain atomic particles to pass through a barrier that they cannot pass over because...
scratch resistant coating
Thin layers intended to prevent damage to plastic optics.
epoxy
Common name for a variety of adhesives used for lens bonding, fiber optic splicing and other photonics applications. The...
oscilloscope
A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible...
idiochromatic
Pertaining to the possession of photoelectric characteristics as a result of the properties of the true crystal and not of...
histochemical staining
Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components...
Billet's split lens
An experimental lens used to produce interference fringes. A positive lens is cut into halves along its center, and the...
quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics where two or more particles become correlated to such an extent...
integration time
Integration time, in the context of optics, imaging systems, and sensor technology, refers to the duration over which a...
quantum optics
The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as...
remote laser welding
A robotic process commonly employed by automakers that enables high-speed and flexible production throughput by using...
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,...
motion controller
In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...
holographic camera
A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...
galvanometric scanner
A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to...
third-order theory
Calculations of lens aberrations whereby the first two terms of the series expansion are the only ones employed....
long-pass filter
A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...
ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...
fan
A set of rays through a lens originating at a common point and contained in one plane.
standing wave
The combination of two waves having the same frequency and amplitude and traveling in opposite directions. Standing waves...
topological photonics
Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the...
scientific CMOS camera
A scientific CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) camera is a type of digital camera specifically designed for...
comparator
1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting...
near-infrared spectroscopy
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...
polished mold
A mold for glass or plastics often made of stainless steel to prevent pitting or oxidation in service. It is polished to the...
Fizeau fringes
Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...
laser speckle
Sparkling granular pattern that is observed when an object diffusely reflects coincident laser light. Speckle appears as an...
lens blank
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...
CMOS image sensor
A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used...
azimuthal polarization
Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...
lattice
In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...
three-level laser
A laser having a material, such as ruby, that has an energy state structure of three levels: the ground state (1) wherein...
attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy
Attosecond-pump attosecond-probe spectroscopy (APAP) is an advanced technique in ultrafast spectroscopy that allows...
interference filter
A filter that controls the spectral composition of transmitted energy partially by the effects of interference. Frequently,...
alexandrite lasers
An alexandrite laser is a solid-state laser that utilizes a synthetic crystal made from the rare earth element alexandrite...
self-phase modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...
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...
caustic
A surface that envelops a bundle of rays or bundle of normals to the wave surface. It may be observed as a hollow, luminous...
astronomical telescope
An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...
Amici prism
Also known as roof prism. A type of prism designed by G.B. Amici. It consists of a roof edge produced upon the long...
FTIR spectrometer
FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of...
single-photon avalanche diode
A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical...
atom optics
The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...
camera tube
The electron beam tube of a television camera that converts an optical image into a pattern of electrostatic charges and...
meteorological optics
 line scan
Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the...
Munsell notation
Alphanumerical description of color according to Munsell hue, value and chroma.
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...
flying spot scanner
A device used to scan, with a small, intensely bright spot, portions of a picture surface and to transform the original...
beam position
In computer graphics, the point on the display screen where the electron beam is located before the display instruction is...
mandrel
A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its...
neuromorphic
Neuromorphic refers to the design and development of computing systems or devices that are inspired by the structure and...
prism
A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...
resonance
Resonance can be defined in various contexts, including physics, chemistry, and music. Here are definitions for resonance in...
reactive evaporation
Reactive evaporation refers to a process in thin-film deposition where a material is deposited onto a substrate through...
optical profiler
Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to...
astronomical mirror
An astronomical mirror, also known as a telescope mirror or primary mirror, is a key component of a reflecting telescope. It...
piezoelectric motion systems
Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or...
modulation transfer function
Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the...
coated optics
Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to...
t number
The equivalent f number of a fictitious lens that has a circular opening and 100 percent transmittance, which would give the...
III-V material
In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from...
neutral density wedge
A strip or annulus of glass coated with a semitransparent material such as inconel. The coating thickness, and as a result...
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other...
bimorph
A type of piezoelectric translator that uses two thin strips of piezoelectric material, one expanding while the other...
retrofocus lens
Also known as reversed telephoto lens. A lens consisting of an ordinary objective with a negative component near its front...
oculometer
An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an...
light field
The term light field refers to the spatial distribution of light rays traveling in all directions through a given space. It...
chirped-pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...
ultraviolet reflectance
Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...
circular dichroism
Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric)...
holographic grating
A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...
Ti:sapphire laser
A Ti:sapphire laser is a type of solid-state laser that utilizes a titanium-doped sapphire crystal as the gain medium. The...
electron-gun system
An electron-gun system is an assembly used to generate and control a focused beam of electrons. Electron guns find...
Rayleigh range
In the region of a Gaussian beam focus by a diffraction-limited lens, it is the axial distance from the point of minimum...
beam optics
high-vacuum tube
An electron tube whose electrical characteristics will not be affected by gaseous ionization because of its high degree of...
biomarker
A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition,...
Luneburg lens
A dielectric sphere with an index of refraction that varies with distance from the sphere center. A parallel beam of rays is...
motion picture camera
A camera equipped with a lens and a long length of perforated film, the latter being moved intermittently between exposures...
active-matrix
An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...
3D printing
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a manufacturing process that builds three-dimensional objects...
optical noise
Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...
mode-locked lasers
Mode-locking is a technique used in lasers to produce ultrashort pulses of light with durations on the order of picoseconds,...
biplanar image tube
Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate...
field
1. In raster scan television, one of the two scans that are interlaced to make up a frame. 2. See field of view.
keystone distortion
A type of geometrical distortion that brings about a trapezoidal display of a nominally rectangular picture. Usually...
spectrometer
A kind of spectrograph in which some form of detector, other than a photographic film, is used to measure the distribution...
interferometer
An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a...
frequency domain
The frequency domain is a concept used in signal processing and analysis to represent signals and data in terms of their...
Photoelastic equipment and supplies
Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze...
prism power
The power, expressed in prism diopters, that is the linear displacement, in centimeters, produced by the prism one meter...
concave and convex spherical mirror
Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These...
flow cytometry
Flow cytometry is a powerful technique used in biology and medicine for the quantitative analysis of the physical and...
optical analysis
The mathematical evaluation of an optical system to determine and quantify its basic optical properties and image quality...
dispersive power
A measure of the dispersive properties of a glass. The relative dispersion is defined as: where C, D, and F refer to the...
integrating sphere
A hollow sphere coated internally with a white diffusing material and provided with openings for incident beam, specimen and...
lay length
In a fiber optic cable, the longitudinal length required for the transmission media, wrapped around a central member, to...
split-image microscope
A mask-alignment microscope used to produce and inspect microcircuits in the electronics industry. It provides flat-field,...
brightfield
Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light...
spatial light interference microscopy
Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative...
swept source optical coherence tomography
Swept-source optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...
Twyman-Green interferometer
A testing device that provides a contour map of the emergent wavefront for the observer in terms of the given wavelength of...
high harmonic generation
High harmonic generation (HHG) refers to a nonlinear optical process in which intense laser light interacts with a gaseous...
probe card
A probe card is a testing device used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to evaluate and test the electrical...
sapphire
Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...
linear image sensor
A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....
fiber Bragg grating
A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It...
divergence
1. In optics, the bending of rays away from each other. 2. In lasers, the spreading of a laser beam with increased distance...
short-arc lamp
A compact high-pressure light source in which an electrical discharge between electrodes spaced no more than 12 mm apart...
multispectral imaging
Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within...
thin-film coating
Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...
scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
Scientific complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (sCMOS) refers to a type of image sensor technology specifically designed...
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics....
indium gallium arsenide camera
An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the...
infrared filter
A filter exhibiting transparency, absorption or reflectance characteristics specifically for spectral control of wavelengths...
focal plane assembly
An infrared imaging device composed of a detector array and readout electronics. It may include a cryogenic cooling system....
Senarmont prism
A polarizing beamsplitting prism similar in design to the Rochon prism. However, the Senarmont transmits the extraordinary...
Bragg's law
The law expressing the condition under which a crystal will reflect a beam of x-rays with the greatest amount of distinction...
landolt ring
A broken circle used as the test object in distinguishing visual acuity. The width of the gap in the circle is equal to the...
Kerr soliton
A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical...
lens mount
The metal tube that maintains the optical components of a lens in proper relationship. Some lenses are mounted in metal...
elbow telescope
A refracting telescope that uses a prism to bend the line of sight 90°.
laser pen
Device consisting of a laser diode, beam-correcting optics and collimating optics in a single housing. Also called a...
slab laser
Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called...
mesopic vision
Vision at intermediate levels of luminance between photopic and scotopic vision, where both retinal cones and retinal rods...
Matrix optics
The linear relationship between input and output optical fields for a given optical system or application that allows the...
tissue optics
The study of the optical properties of living tissue. Increased understanding of the behavior of light in this varied,...
degree of coherence
A quantitative measurement of the coherence of a light source; equal to the visibility (V) of the fringes of a two-beam...
collector
A positive lens located at or close to an intermediate image plane. The collector refracts off-axis light bundles, directing...
hill cloud lens
A fish-eye lens designed to photograph cloud formations over the entire visible sky.
spectral signature
A spectral signature, in the context of remote sensing and spectroscopy, refers to the unique pattern or characteristic...
physiological optics
The study of visual perception by the sense of sight.
bellows
In optics, a collapsible structure situated between the lens and film of a camera to allow variation of the distance between...
grating beamsplitter
A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...
fluorescence photography
The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the...
wedge
An optical element having plane-inclined surfaces. Usually the faces are inclined toward one another at very small angles....
diamond turning
Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...
massive optics
Optical components exceeding 24 in. in diameter. The components are usually glass, acrylic or polystyrene and are used for...
quantum
The term quantum refers to the fundamental unit or discrete amount of a physical quantity involved in interactions at the...
breakout cable
A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...
sag
1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. ...
phase screen
A phase screen, in the context of optics and wave optics, refers to a surface or medium that introduces a phase delay to an...
reticle
A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical...
concave
Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...
stimulated Brillouin scattering
In Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), an incident photon (usually laser light) interacts with acoustic phonons in a...
laser triangulation
A technique that uses a solid-state laser and a detector to determine an object's relative distance to the system. The laser...
polishing jig
In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing...
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...
spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...
rainbow hologram
Essentially, a hologram of a hologram, in which the first-generation hologram is masked with a narrow slit. During image...
buffer
1. In fiber optics, a protective material applied as an optical fiber cover that has no optical function. 2. In image...
pixel
A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a...
ring-laser gyroscope
A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It...
triplet
A lens assembly made up of three lens elements that may or may not be cemented.
meniscus lens
A lens that has one convex surface and the other concave.
dispersion
Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing...
solar simulator
A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for...
field of view
The field of view (FOV) refers to the extent of the observable world or the visible area that can be seen at any given...
sputtering target
A sputtering target is a solid material used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....
mode filter
A device used in measuring the attenuation of multimode optical fibers. A short reference length of fiber when combined with...
grating monochromator
An optical instrument used to isolate a narrow bandwidth of optical radiation using a diffraction grating as the dispersive...
curvature of field
A lens aberration that causes a flat object surface to be imaged onto a curved surface rather than a plane.
mid-infrared camera
A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range,...
hard coating
Usually a dielectric coating on glass or plastic optics; a coating that is comparable in hardness to glass itself.
angle of incidence
The angle formed between a ray of light striking a surface and the normal to that surface at the point of incidence.
overhead projector
A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed...
network interface card
A network interface card (NIC), also known as a network adapter or LAN adapter, is a hardware component that allows...
aspheric lens
An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...
colorimeter
A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides...
diffractive optics
Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings,...
phototheranostics
Phototheranostics, a portmanteau of "photo" (light), "therapy," and "diagnostics," refers to an emerging field that combines...
APD detector
An APD detector, or avalanche photodiode detector, is a type of photodetector used to detect light or optical signals by...
trichromacy
The basis of color vision in the human eye. Three types of cones have been identified, each having a unique spectral...
color graphics converter
A unit that converts images to the standard NTSC format for use with video recorders, projectors and discs.
Mangin mirror
A double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens...
telephoto lens
A compound lens so constructed that its overall length is equal to or less than its effective focal length.
epitaxial
Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all...
fiber optic cable assembly
A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and...
x-ray optics
The study of the physics of x-rays, where the x-rays exhibit properties similar to those of lightwaves. Also called Roentgen...
maser
An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or...
polarization-preserving fiber
Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its...
detector array
A detector array refers to a collection of individual detector elements arranged in a two-dimensional grid or matrix format....
Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...
point cloud
A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific...
liquid marble
Liquid marble refers to a unique form of microscale liquid encapsulation, where small droplets of liquid are coated with a...
light diffusion
Light diffusion refers to the process by which light is scattered or spread out in various directions as it interacts with a...
etalon
An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance....
virtual histology
Virtual histology refers to the use of digital technology and computational methods to simulate or recreate histological...
penumbra
A source of light will not cast a distinct shadow of an interfering, opaque object, but will cast a shadow having two parts:...
lithography
Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the...
soliton
Any isolated wave that propagates without dispersion of energy. Specifically to photonics, an ultrashort pulse of laser...
optical clock
An optical clock is a highly precise and advanced timekeeping device that relies on the oscillations of electromagnetic...
Petzval lens
A high-speed, narrow-field lens consisting of two achromats spaced about the aperture stop. Its uses include portrait...
Fresnel mirrors
Two plane mirrors that are not wholly located in the same plane. When light from a point source or slit reflects from the...
quantum mechanics
The science of all complex elements of atomic and molecular spectra, and the interaction of radiation and matter.
edge-emitting LED
An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the...
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
smectic phase
A form of liquid crystal in which flow does not take place in the usual manner. When examined with polarized light, the...
substrate
A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various...
surface-emitting laser diode
A semiconductor laser diode that emits light perpendicular to the active region. The output radiation is taken through the...
reflection
Return of radiation by a surface, without change in wavelength. The reflection may be specular, from a smooth surface;...
reflective spectroscopy
Reflectance spectroscopy is a technique used to analyze the reflective properties of materials across various wavelengths of...
aerocartography
The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive...
optofluidics
Optofluidics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from optics and fluidics to create devices and systems...
laser tube
The device, usually made of glass or a similar material, that contains the resonant cavity and optics of a gas laser.
phase-modulated sensor
A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical...
vapor-phase axial deposition
A process by which high-quality fiber optics are made. See axial vapor-phase deposition.
laser cavity
A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined...
remote inspection
Remote inspection refers to the process of inspecting, evaluating, or monitoring assets, equipment, infrastructure, or...
soft coating
A term describing an antireflection coating that may be applied to optics that cannot tolerate the high temperatures usually...
quantum cascade laser
A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....
Paschen series
An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by...
focal length
The focal length of a lens is the distance between the lens's optical center (or principal point) and the image sensor or...
hyperspectral imaging
Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the...
laser-induced fluorescence
Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms,...
photodiode detector
A photodiode detector is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It operates based on the...
fiber optic transceiver
A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic...
Young's two-slit interference
The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference...
Dove prism
A form of prism invented by H.W. Dove. It resembles half of a common right-angle prism in which a ray entering parallel to...
attenuator
An electronic transducer, either fixed or adjustable, that reduces the amplitude of a wave without causing significant...
masks for evaporation/deposition
In the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...
selenology
That branch of astronomy concerned with the study of the moon's physical characteristics.
Judas optics
A small defocused Galilean telescope mounted in a hole in a door. Viewed from inside through the positive lens, a wide-angle...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...
infrared detector
An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...
recombinase polymerase amplification
Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA...
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
computer graphics workstation
The physical area containing an assembly of computer graphics equipment for presenting generated images and allowing...
CID camera
CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state...
optical density
A measure of the transmittance through an optical medium. Optical density equals the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of...
correspondence theory
Bohr's formulation that every new theoretical principle must correspond to the salient classical predecessor. The principle...
hygroscopic
In fiber optics, a material whose properties, usually of transmission, are distinctly affected by the absorption of water...
coma
A lens aberration, resulting from different magnifications in the various lens zones, that occurs in that part of the image...
Wollaston prism
A polarizing prism consisting of two calcite prisms cemented such that they deviate the two emerging beams (which are...
Casimir force
The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...
scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials...
Verdet constant
A factor of an equation of the Faraday effect, which is the rotation of the plane of light polarization by transparent...
cold atom
Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...
aptamer
An aptamer is a short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule that can bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity...
microdisplay
A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small...
half bandwidth
The term half bandwidth (HBW) generally refers to the width of a spectral band or frequency range at half of its maximum...
absorption peak
An absorption peak refers to a sharp increase or spike in the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a particular...
principal plane
In a lens or lens system, that surface at which the projections of an entering and exiting ray intersect. Also known as the...
raster
The pattern of lines traced by rectilinear scanning in display systems.
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
scintillation
1. The variation in intensity of a light beam as it travels through the atmosphere. 2. In radiation physics, a light flash...
quantum key distribution
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method of secure communication that utilizes principles from quantum mechanics to...
duplet lens system
An optical system having two sets of components separated by an air space, while successive lenses in each set are cemented...
scanner
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...
multi-axis alignment
Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...
telecentric lens
There are three types of telecentric lenses: -Image-space telecentric lenses are those in which the aperture stop is...
attenuation-limited power
In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the amplitude of a received signal rather than distortion.
phase mask
In optics and photolithography, a phase mask refers to a device that modifies the phase of light waves passing through it....
vertical-cavity laser diode
A type of surface-emitting laser diode that uses dielectric mirrors to produce surface emission. The laser cavity is...
thick-phase material
A type of recording material, usually a photodielectric polymer, offering in situ development mechanisms because of its...
plastic optical fiber
Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate...
electron microscope
A device utilizing an electron beam for the observation and recording of submicroscopic samples with the aid of photographic...
normalized frequency
Also referred to as the V number in fiber optics; the normalized frequency is a dimensionless quantity, denoted by the...
spectroheliograph
An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously...
color perception test equipment
Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The...
computer numerically controlled grinding
Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision...
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific...
digital holographic microscopy
Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing...
organic light-emitting diode
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to...
triclinic
With respect to a crystal, having three unequal axes intersecting at angles, only two of which can be equal and only one of...
high-speed movie camera
A camera designed to record at rates exceeding 50 fps. For frame rates up to about 500 fps, an ordinary pull-down mechanism...
Abbe prism
A form of roof prism used to invert an image. The prism has faces cut normal to the optical axis; therefore, the prism may...
stereoscope
A small instrument containing a picture support and a pair of magnifying lenses so arranged that the left eye sees only the...
diffuser
An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is...
Raman effect
When light is transmitted through matter, part of the light is scattered in random directions. A small part of the scattered...
lateral shearing interferometer
A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...
Kerr cell
A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since...
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...
direct-vision prism
An assembly of multiple prisms that disperses incident light into its spectral components without deviating light at the...
phase
In optics and photonics, "phase" refers to a property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the position...
automated optical inspection
Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to...
excimer laser
An excimer laser is a type of ultraviolet laser that emits short pulses of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. The term...
isolator
In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one...
infrared lens
An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...
red, green, blue
RGB stands for red, green, blue, which are the primary colors of light used in additive color mixing. The RGB color model is...
transversely excited atmosphere carbon dioxide laser
Abbreviated TEA CO2 laser. A gas laser that provides shorter pulses and higher peak powers than conventional CO2 lasers. The...
holographic microscopy
The holographic recording of a microscopic specimen whereby magnification is achieved by alteration in a wavelength or...
molded lens
A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such...
attenuation
Attenuation refers to the gradual loss or reduction of intensity, force, or magnitude of a particular property as it...
system on chip
Abbreviated SoC. A single chip containing all the electronic circuits required for a complete, working product. SoCs are...
Littrow prism
A 30-60-90° spectrograph prism that is coated on the surface opposite the 60° angle with a reflecting film.
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...
fiber optics
The use of thin flexible glass or plastic fibers as wave guides — or "light pipes" — to channel light from one...
fluorescent protein
Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a...
Rayleigh criterion of resolving power
When a lens system with a circular aperture is free of aberrations, the image of a point object will appear as a disc of...
metrology
Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement,...
fullerenes
Molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid or tube. Also called buckyballs....
electronics
That branch of science involved in the study and utilization of the motion, emissions and behaviors of currents of...
dipole polarization
Electric polarization characterized by homogeneous polar dielectrics and ascribed to the position of the permanent molecular...
solid optics
Optical elements arranged with no spaces between, so that the light travels only through glass, not air.
time-to-amplitude converter
A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) is an electronic circuit that converts a time interval between two events into an...
microphotonics
The technology of manipulating light on a micro scale. In optical communications, this is usually accomplished using two or...
reactor
In chemistry, a device in which a chemical reaction takes place. In electronics, a device that introduces reactance into a...
photochemical
The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...
optical coherence tomography imaging system
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain...
vidicon
A small television tube originally developed for closed-circuit television. It is about 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches...
transmitter
In fiber optic communications, a light source whose beam can be modulated and sent along an optical fiber, and the...
Monte Carlo simulation
Simulation of radiative transfer in which each photon is generated by a source and its path through the medium is...
modulation spectroscopy
A method of spectral analysis in which some property of the sample is varied and the corresponding change is measured. The...
light pattern
In optics, a pattern, such as the Buchmann-Meyer pattern, that may be viewed when the record surface is illuminated by a...
optical
Pertaining to optics and the phenomena of light.
optical filter
An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...
infrared scanner
An optical system used to collect infrared energy from a scene using scanning optics with a point or line detector, as...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...
frame rate
Frame rate refers to the frequency at which consecutive images, or frames, are displayed in a video sequence. It is...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
Weissenberg method
The Weissenberg method, named after the German physicist Karl Weissenberg, is a technique used in x-ray crystallography for...
FMCW lidar
FMCW lidar stands for frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar. It is a type of lidar (light detection and ranging)...
blur circle
A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not...
emergent ray
In optics, the light ray leaving a medium in contrast to the entering or incident ray.
photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...
color center
A color center, in the context of materials science and condensed matter physics, refers to a specific type of...
diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties...
infrared light source
An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of...
quasi-linear theory
The first nonlinear theory in plasma physics that details the time and space evolution of plasma wave instability from a...
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the...
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
static beam shaping
A technique for creating optimal performance in a system by producing a specific beam irradiance distribution, usually...
phase contrast microscopy
Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless...
quantitative phase imaging
Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...
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,...
monochromatic light
Light consisting of a single wavelength or a very narrow band of wavelengths.
wafer
In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a...
micro-optic gyroscope
A thin-film device that integrates optics and electronics on a single chip to provide a passive-ring resonator gyroscope...
halation
1. In a cathode-ray tube, the glow surrounding a bright spot that appears on the fluorescent screen as the result of the...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
monomer
A molecule that has the ability to chemically combine with other molecules to form a polymer, hence being capable of being...
fused quartz and silica
Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...
Dammann grating
A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...
back focal length
The distance from the final optic within a system to the rear image point of the system. See focal length.
single molecule localization microscopy
Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the...
laser crystal
A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...
intensified charge-coupled device camera
An intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) camera is an advanced imaging device that combines the capabilities of both an...
quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...
slide projector
An optical projection device designed to project positive color transparencies onto a screen for viewing.
atmospheric optics
The analysis of the properties of radiation, such as light, when acted upon by variations in the atmosphere. Blue and red...
Laurent polarimeter
A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by...
momentum transfer
In physics, momentum transfer is the amount of momentum transferred from one particle to another during particle collision...
Schlieren optics
An optical system that records inhomogeneities within a medium by detecting the energy refracted by that portion of the...
optical distance
The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent...
population inversion
The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated...
fluorescence lifetime imaging
Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...
aperture stop
A physical constraint, often a lens retainer, that limits the diameter of the axial light bundle allowed to pass through a...
silicon carbide light-emitting diodes
Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...
transmission
In optics, the conduction of radiant energy through a medium. Often denotes the percentage of energy passing through an...
supercontinuum
Supercontinuum refers to a broad spectrum of light that spans a wide range of wavelengths, typically from the visible to the...
CoaXPress
CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision...
piezoelectric transducers and ceramic materials
Piezoelectric transducers are devices that utilize the piezoelectric effect to convert electrical energy into mechanical...
lensless microscopy
Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and...
cold mirror
A mirror whose coating serves to reflect visible radiation while transmitting the infrared.
confocal resonator
A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...
holographic tomography
Holographic tomography is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and tomography to provide three-dimensional...
transducer
A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...
ultrafast pulsed laser
An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the...
neodymium:YAG
Literally, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet. A cylindrical rod of yttrium-aluminum-garnet doped with neodymium that is 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...
quantum confinement
Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...
multileg lightguide
A fiber optic bundle split along its length with the ends of the fibers extending separately to illuminate different points...
modulation
In general, changes in one oscillation signal caused by another, such as amplitude or frequency modulation in radio which...
stepper motor
A positioning drive that rotates a fraction of a 360° turn when the motor coils are activated, resulting in linear or...
lock-in amplifier
A lock-in amplifier is a specialized electronic instrument used to extract and measure small signals embedded in noise or...
near-infrared spectrometer
A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection...
gram positive
Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called...
intravital microscopy
Intravital microscopy is an imaging technique used to visualize biological processes within living organisms, typically in...
RTSP protocol
RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is...
light sheet fluorescence microscopy
Also known as single plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), this process was designed for imaging of sensitive samples and...
transmissometry
The methods used to determine the extinction characteristics of a medium.
quantum well
A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...
microlens array
A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each...
microscopy
Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to...
photonics contract manufacturing
Photonics contract manufacturing refers to the outsourcing of the production of photonics-related components, devices, or...
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...
aplanatic points
Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or...
bandwidth-limited operation
In fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the system bandwidth rather than the amplitude of the signal.
kinematics
That portion of physics concerned with motion in the abstract, such as of points or space figures, and separated from its...
minimum angle of deviation
The smallest angle through which light is bent by an optical element or system. In a prism, the angle of deviation is a...
Gaussian profile
An intensity distribution (intensity as a function of radial distance from the beam center) which is given by the Gaussian...
axial gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation,...
cold shield
That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a...
Planck's (radiation) law
The formula describing the spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody as a function of its temperature and the...
Airy disc
The central peak (including everything interior to the first zero or dark ring) of the focal diffraction pattern of a...
optical ceramics
Transparent glassy and or crystalline structured materials engineered from inorganic, non-metallic materials via various...
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...
diffraction
As a wavefront of light passes by an opaque edge or through an opening, secondary weaker wavefronts are generated,...
lens element
One optical element of a multielement lens. See optical element.
Nicol prism
A prism invented by William Nicol in 1828 that is made of calcite, the end faces of which are ground to an angle of 68°...
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...
nanoimprint lithography
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a nanolithography technique used for fabricating nanoscale patterns on a substrate. It is a...
flying spot microscope
A microscope that uses a flying spot scanner, directed through the eyepiece, as a light source to determine the features of...
cut plane
In computer graphics, intersection of a plane with a three-dimensional object to create a sectional view.
machine vision lighting
Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision,...
custom lapping and polishing services
Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional...
dust extinction
In atmospheric optics, the almost total blocking of light transmission in the atmosphere due to the scattering and...
nonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...
thermal-infrared camera
A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared...
bandwidth
The range of frequencies over which a particular instrument is designed to function within specified limits. See also fiber...
field stop
An aperture located at an image plane of an optical system that determines the size and shape of the image.
chemical vapor deposition
Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...
chemical vapor deposition equipment
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...
micro-LED
Micro-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to...
magnetometer
A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect...
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...
anisotropic
Anisotropic is a term used to describe a material or substance that exhibits different properties or behaviors in different...
freeform mirrors
Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...
near-infrared camera
A near-infrared (NIR) camera is an imaging device designed to capture images in the near-infrared region of the...
connector
Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a...
Petzval surface
A paraboloidal surface on which the image is located when there is no astigmatism.
micro-ring resonator
A micro-ring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped...
Dogmar/Aviar lens
A general-purpose lens, also known as the Celor lens, used widely in photography and commercial processing; it has the form...
optical camouflage
The use of retroreflective projection technology (RPT) to project a background image onto a masked object, such as a vehicle...
optical tweezers
Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic...
cosine law of illumination
Law relating the illuminance (or irradiance) of a surface to the cosine of the angle, q, between the normal to the surface...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...
Maksutov corrector
A thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of...
incoherent
In optics, the term denoting the lack of a fixed phase relationship between two waves. If two incoherent waves are...
diffraction grating
A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel...
laser cooling
A process and method by which manipulation and orientation of a given number of directed laser beams decreases the motion of...
infrared searchlight
An infrared source combined with reflecting projection optics to illuminate a target making it visible when observed through...
plasma physics
The study of highly ionized gases. Many phenomena not exhibited by uncharged gases are associated with plasma physics.
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
nuclear fusion
In physics, nuclear fusion refers to the process in which two atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus,...
light-emitting diode
An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...
phase distrortion
Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...
linear positioning stage
A linear positioning stage, also known as a linear stage or translation stage, is a precision mechanical device used to...
x-ray image spectrography
Irradiation of a cylindrical crystal with an x-ray beam resulting in Bragg diffraction that produces a slightly enlarged...
retroreflection
Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly...
atomic scattering factor
The efficiency of scattering by an atom in a particular direction, expressed as: where AA is the amplitude of the wave from...
Geometrical optics
The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's...
spheric lens
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...
total internal reflection fluorescence
Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is an advanced fluorescence microscopy technique that leverages the...
data bus
A system incorporated into fiber optic data communications characterized by several spatially distributed terminals that are...
event-based sensor
An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to...
backscatter
Backscatter refers to the phenomenon in which radiation or waves are scattered backward, opposite to the direction of the...
relay condenser
A form of lens assembly used in a projection system to maximize efficiency and assure uniform illumination of the object...
periscope
An optical instrument designed to displace the line of sight in a vertical direction. For submarines and other military uses...
spherical gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies symmetrically about a point.
magnetic resonance imaging
An imaging technique used in radiology that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to produce...
single-molecule FRET
Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular...
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...
negative dielectric anisotropy
State typically studied in liquid crystals in which the dielectric coefficient parallel to the director is less than the...
superior mirage
An image of an object that appears above the object's true position as the result of abnormal refraction of the image rays...
optical figure
The amount by which an optical surface deviates from its ideal design value, expressed in wavelengths of light. Optical...
phase conjugation
The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols,...
equivalent air path
When a block of glass (prism, window, filter, etc.) is placed into a converging light bundle, it increases the physical...
photomultiplier tube
A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely...
Foucault knife-edge test
The Foucault test is performed by moving a knife edge laterally into the image of a small point source. The eye, or a...
loose-tube buffering
In fiber optic cable, containment of the fiber or fibers within an outer protective tube in which they can move to some...
divided slit scan
A scanning technique in optical character recognition in which an array of photocells is used to scan each character to...
fluoride glass
Optical glass containing zirconium fluoride that results in special characteristics such as improved transmission.
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
active optics
Technology that corrects the shape of reflective optics; primarily applied in large telescope systems, in order to...
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that integrates digital information, typically in the form of computer-generated...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
fractals
A method used to generate graphics within a computer system. Rather than dots or lines, fractal graphics work with...
Pockels
In optics, the Pockels effect refers to the phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an...
matrix optics
Cooke triplet lens
The simplest lens in which all primary aberrations may be corrected. It consists of two positive crown elements on either...
double refraction
The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such...
Winston cone
Specified curved optic intended for maximum collection of light, including off-axis rays, before leaving the exit aperture.
intensified vidicon
A standard direct-readout vidicon tube linked by fiber optics to an intensifier for increased sensitivity.
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...
achromat
An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....
optics of material
The area of optics that deals with the interaction of light with a given material. The optical properties of material are...
Callier coefficient
The coefficient termed by Callier as the ratio between the density of photographic negatives measured by parallel light and...
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...
sapphire crystal
Sapphire crystal refers to a transparent, single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) known as corundum. It is one of the...
laser lithotripsy
Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...
optical testing instrument
An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...
mesoscope
In the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture...
object
The figure seen through or imaged by an optical system. It may contain structures, natural or artificial, or it may be the...
modified chemical vapor deposition
Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form...
phototoxicity
Phototoxicity refers to the harmful effects caused by exposure to light, particularly intense or ultraviolet (UV) light, on...
zoom lens
An optical system of variable focal length, the focal plane remaining in a fixed position. This result is achieved by moving...
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...
Sagnac interferometer
A type of interferometer in which two coils of optical fiber are arranged so that light from a single source travels...
photon sieve
A photon sieve is an optical device used in the field of optics and imaging. It's designed to focus and shape light,...
Cornu double prism
A compound prism formed by cementing together two 30° prisms, one of right-handed and one of left-handed quartz. It has...
modulation transfer function analysis/measurement equipment
MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer...
pyramid error
Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors....
mixed-signal oscilloscope
A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a...
monochromator
A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of...
disc colorimeter
A colorimeter using a spinning disc made of different colored sections for colorimetric analysis.
pulse spreading
Variations in a signal passing through an optical fiber caused by the effect on the pulse of the fiber's material and mode...
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...
germanium crystal
Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...
hologram
An interference pattern that is recorded on a high-resolution plate, the two interfering beams formed by a coherent beam...
laser-mediated gene transfer
Laser-mediated gene transfer refers to a technique in molecular biology and genetic engineering that utilizes lasers to...
gyroscope
A gyroscope is a mechanical device consisting of a spinning disk or wheel mounted on a spinning axis in such a way that its...
beamsplitter
A beamsplitter is an optical device for dividing a beam into two or more separate beams. A simple beamsplitter may be a very...
Lloyd's mirror
A mirror employed with a very high incidence angle to form a pair of coherent light sources by reflection, and therefore...
free-electron laser
A free-electron laser (FEL) is a type of laser that generates coherent, high-intensity electromagnetic radiation by using a...
grating spectroscope
A spectroscope having a diffraction grating for the resolution of light of various wavelengths.
morphological processing
A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for...
autocollimator
An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on...
synchrotron
A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...
saturation
1. The decrease of the absorption (or gain) coefficient of a medium near some transition frequency when the power of the...
toric lens
A lens having one or more toric surfaces. A toric surface is one having a maximum power in one meridian and a minimum power...
spectral repeatability
Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...
Arrhenius plot
The plot that expresses a reaction rate vs. the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Often used to describe the thermal...
active-matrix OLED display
An OLED display that has an integrated electronic backplane as its substrate. Active-matrix OLED displays use at least two...
broadband dielectric mirrors
Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...
Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...
surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique that combines the principles of Raman spectroscopy...
eye relief
Also termed eye distance. The distance between the vertex of the last optical surface of a visual optical system and the...
fluorescence lifetime
Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength...
collimator
An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e....
tangent ogive
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...
Fresnel rhomb
A type of quarter-wave retarder in the form of a glass rhomb; light entering the retarder undergoes two total internal...
medical lasers
Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...
secondary color
An aberration that remains after primary color is corrected. Primary color causes the back focus of a lens to vary with...
image
In optics, an image is the reconstruction of light rays from a source or object when light from that source or object is...
nonlinear optical effect
A class of optical phenomena that can be viewed only with nearly monochromatic, directional beams of light, such as those...
unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. UAVs are remotely...
topology
Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous...
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...
photoelastic
In optics, the double refraction that is produced when stress is applied to a transparent material. Plastics, which are...
optical gate
An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...
circular variable filter
An optical interference coating, vacuum-deposited on a circular substrate, whose transmission characteristics may be varied...
GaAlAs laser
A GaAlAs laser is a type of semiconductor laser diode that emits light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic...
filter wheel
A device that holds a number of filters and allows the filter with the desired characteristics to be rotated into an optical...
electro-optics
1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by...
acousto-optic modulators and deflectors
An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
micro ion milling
Process developed for the production of high-resolution patterns in electro- and magneto-optics. These high-generation...
fiberless optics
minimum object distance
Minimum object distance, often abbreviated as MOD, refers to the closest distance at which a camera lens or optical system...
critical angle
The least angle of incidence at which total internal reflection takes place. The angle of incidence in a denser medium, at...
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...
holmium laser
Holmium lasers are a type of medical laser that utilizes holmium-doped crystals as the gain medium. The term holmium laser...
evanescent field theory
A high-frequency approach to the propagation of light in graded-index fibers in which the modal field is represented in...
paraboloidal mirror
A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a...
digital signal processing
Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...
machine vision system
A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and...
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...
laser spectroscopy
That part of the science involved in the study of the theory and interpretation of spectra that uses the unique...
high-speed motion camera
A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device...
CCD camera
A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and...
laser damage threshold
The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...
optical fiber optic switches
Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals...
covered groove
A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate...
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...
astigmatism
A lens aberration that results in the tangential and sagittal image planes being separated axially.
CMOS camera
A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to...
spectrograph
An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a...
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...
radial gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the index varies in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis....
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA...
sapphire window
A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of...
harmonic generation
Harmonic generation refers to a nonlinear optical process in which incoming photons interact with a material and produce new...
degrees of freedom
The number of unique ways in which a part can move in an alignment system. In static alignment, there are six: one in the...
injection molding
A method of producing high-quality plastic optics in large volumes by injecting the heated, liquified plastic at high...
astronomical spectroscopy
The process of using a spectrograph with a telescope to acquire information on an astronomical object's speed and physical...
fluorescence decay system
A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...
structural color
Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the...
tolerance field
In fiber optics, the annular region between two concentric circles; used to specify fiber cladding and core sizes.
slicing and cutting machines - for crystals, quartz, glass, etc.
A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing...
mode beating
In optics, "mode beating" refers to an interference phenomenon that can occur in laser systems with multiple longitudinal...
neuromorphic vision sensor
A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual...
error function
A single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known...
Munsell color system
Founded by professor Albert Munsell. In the field of colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that identifies...
electrolytic shutter
A high-speed shutter, similar to a Kerr cell, that uses the birefringence produced in a liquid during the passage of an...
time-correlated single photon counting
Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...
atomic force microscope
An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials...
thyratron
An arc discharge tube having a grid that is used to start the discharge through an atmosphere of inert gas or vapor at low...
calcium indicator
A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems....
diverging lens
A diverging lens is a type of lens that causes parallel rays of light to spread out or diverge. It is thinner in the center...
field emission display
An X-Y electrically addressable series of arrays with individual electron emitters bombarding a phosphor-coated transparent...
microRNA
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, single-stranded RNA molecules, typically consisting of about 19 to 24 nucleotides,...
transmission electron microscope
A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a powerful microscopy technique that uses a beam of electrons to create...
machine vision
Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically...
beam table
Laser light show effects equipment including optics and mechanical devices that reflect, position or distort the laser beam,...
lambertian source plane
In optics, a plane that emits a flux proportional to the cosine of the angle of the normal; dense opal glass is an example.
extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....
Fizeau interferometer
A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the...
arcuate displacement
Displacement in a direction perpendicular to that of the intended displacement, as in a translation stage with simple...
hard elastics
High-modulus elastic fibers that exhibit the following differences from conventional elastic fibers: Increasing temperature...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...
optical fiber
Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light...
whole slide imaging
Whole slide imaging (WSI), also known as virtual slide microscopy or digital pathology, is a technology that involves the...
spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...
depth of focus
The range of image distances that corresponds to the range of object distances covered by the depth of field.
structured light
The projection of a plane or grid pattern of light onto an object. It can be used for the determination of three-dimensional...
cleaning equipment
In optics, degreasers or ultrasonic arrangements used for removing pitch, cement or polishing material from lenses during...
blackbody simulator
A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical,...
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...
optical coherence tomography angiography
Also known as OCT-A, optical coherence tomography angiography is an imaging technique that uses light waves to measure...
phonon
A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...
cutoff wavelength
1. In detector technology, the long wavelength at which detector response falls to a set percentage (usually 20 or 50...
chalcogenide
Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...
cladding mode
A mode that is confined by virtue of a lower-index medium surrounding the cladding. Cladding modes, in the terminology of...
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...
photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a technique used to obtain accurate three-dimensional measurements of objects and environments through the...
jig transit
An optical instrument containing a gimballed sighting telescope, used to measure angular relationships in horizontal and...
metabolite
A metabolite is any small molecule that is a product of metabolism, the chemical processes that occur within living...
laser diode module
A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...
piezoresistance
Piezoresistance is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where the electrical resistance of a material changes in...
double-crucible method
A method of fabricating an optical waveguide by melting the core and clad glasses in two suitably joined concentric...
cathode coupling
In electronics, the coupling of power from stage to stage by the use of an input or output element in the cathode.
laser guide star
An artificial star used to aid in adaptive optics imaging of the sky. The guide star is provided from a telescope system on...
radiometer
A device used to measure the intensity of radiant energy.
rare earth dopants
Rare earth dopants refer to elements from the lanthanide series, also known as rare earth elements, that are intentionally...
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose...
adapter
1. In optics, the housing, usually cylindrical, that contains the lenses and iris diaphragm of a camera. 2. In fiber optics,...
low-temperature spectroscopy
The analysis of structural and molecular dynamics caused by low temperature.
high-density storage
Extensive data storage in the form of bits, with the use of high-resolution photographic materials and optics, and generally...
electron optics
The control of free electron movement through the use of electrical or magnetic fields, and use of this electron movement in...
optical tooling target
Sets of paired lines carefully designed to give the most accurate pointing possible for various lengths of sight.
emission spectrum
An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...
near-field scanning
A measurement technique used to determine the spatial distribution profile of an electrical or optical quantity of interest...
Risley prism
A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the...
replica grating
A reproduction made of an original grating -- usually by casting thermosetting plastics onto the original -- to avoid the...
epitaxial equipment
Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...
deep ultraviolet
Deep ultraviolet (DUV or deep-UV) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet light with shorter wavelengths than those in the...
delta error
The term delta error (delta-E) generally refers to the difference or change in error between two values or states. The word...
second-order nonlinear optical properties
Second-order nonlinear optical properties refer to a class of phenomena exhibited by certain materials in response to...
additive color process
A process of color photography in which colors are added one to another in the form of light, rather than as colorants, to...
optical materials
Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...
serpentine bend mode filter
A device used in measuring attenuation in optical fiber. The loss caused by the bends in a short reference length of fiber...
alphanumeric generator
In computer graphics, a character generator that produces alphabetical and numerical characters with some punctuation and...
octave
In optics, an octave typically refers to a range of frequencies or wavelengths that spans a factor of 2. In other words,...
fiber laser
A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as...
biocular
A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The...
computer vision
Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It...
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...
digital twin
A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This...
laser annealing
Laser annealing is a process that involves using a laser beam to heat and modify the microstructure of a material, typically...
electric-discharge lamp
A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and...
penta prism
A five-sided prism containing two reflecting surfaces at 45° to each other, and two refracting faces perpendicular to...
thermodynamics
Examination of the processes whereby heat energy is converted into other forms of energy.
short wavelength infrared
Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between...
hyperspectral resolution
Hyperspectral resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in the spectral information captured by a...
leaky ray
In an optical waveguide, a ray for which geometric optics would predict total internal reflection at the core boundary, but...
infrared camera
An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...
Fabry-Perot interferometer
A multiple-beam interferometer, usually consisting of two flat plates, with high reflective ability. The plates are set...
polymer
Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded...
vitreous
Having the characteristics of glass.
endoscope
An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...
optical parametric oscillator
A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates...
geometric optics
A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...
perovskite
The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...
Fresnel reflection
Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive...
eye test apparatus
Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication,...
Mie scattering
Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as...
critical illumination
Illumination in which the light source is imaged at the object.
lineament
A mappable surface feature arranged in straight or curved lines that is distinguished from surrounding surfaces and is...
inverse square law
The law stating that the illuminance (or irradiance) from a point source varies as the inverse square of the distance...
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...
nitrogen vacancy
A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces...
brightness resolution
The degree to which a pixel in a digital image represents the analog brightness of the corresponding point in the original...
YAG crystal
A YAG crystal refers to a solid-state crystal made of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), which is a synthetic crystalline...
Pechan prism
A prism made up of two air-spaced components. It has the ability to revert, and not invert, an image, and can be used in...
image optics
Any form of lens, optical system (camera, telescope, microscope, etc.), or opto-electronics utilized for the purpose of...
angular spectrum approach
The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...
replicated optics
Optical components, usually reflectors, produced using proprietary techniques that transfer the precision of a master to a...
offset prism
A prism or prism assembly that serves to displace the instrument's optical axis.
rotating mirror scanner
Developed for use in military reconnaissance systems, it consists of a polygonal mirror, drive motor, interface between...
ultraviolet fiber optics
Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet...
bubble chamber optics
Specially designed optics for the observation and photographing of hydrogen in a bubble chamber.
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter...
quantum-ehanced metrology
Quantum-enhanced metrology refers to the use of quantum mechanics principles and techniques to enhance the precision and...
terahertz spectrometer
A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...
logic diagram
A diagram that uses special symbols called logic symbols to represent the detailed functioning of electronic logic circuits....
near-field holography
A lithography method that allows the transfer of fine-pitch gratings from a phase mask into photoresist. The exposure takes...
head-up display
An optical system that superimposes a synthetic display providing navigational or weapon-aiming information on a pilot's or...
integrated optics
A thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric...
MSM photodiode
A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...
automatic optical inspection
A system for automatic industrial process control or measurement, consisting of an optical module for image acquisition, a...
sonde
A ruggedized scintillation counter used in oil well logging. The cylindrical housing contains a gamma ray source, a...
long-wave infrared
Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main...
nanopositioning
Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer...
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...
laser ablation
Laser ablation is a process that involves the removal or erosion of material from a target surface using laser energy. This...
plastic optics
Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to...
rare-earth elements
Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen chemical elements found in the Earth's crust, characterized by their...
Peltier cooler
A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses...
image jump
In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs...
Snell's law of refraction
The incident ray, the normal to the refracting surface at the point of incidence of the ray at the surface, and the...
remote sensing
Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on...
magneto-optics
Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic...
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment or experience that can be...
beam profiling
Beam profiling is a technique used to characterize and analyze the spatial intensity distribution of a laser beam. It...
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...
figure
In optics, the geometrical form of an optical surface.
corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...
diffractive lens
Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates,...
spatial resolution
Spatial resolution refers to the level of detail or granularity in an image or a spatial dataset. It is a measure of the...
qubit
A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...
volumetric imaging
Volumetric imaging refers to the capture, visualization, and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) information from a volume of...
wave optics
Also referred to as physical optics - the area of optics in which the wave nature of light is essential when defining its...
stereolithography
A method of creating real three-dimensional models by using lasers driven by CAD software. In contrast to the normal...
cryogenics
The science and technology applied to the creation of low temperatures (i.e., approaching absolute zero).
Kellner eyepiece
An eyepiece consisting of a planoconvex field lens and a cemented doublet as the eye lens.
sputtering equipment
Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....
Fourier transform spectrometer
An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of...
photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...
crystal optics
The study of the transmission of radiant energy through crystals, especially anisotropic crystals, and their effects on...
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique that enhances the Raman scattering signal of...
kinematic mount
A mount for an optic element or optics assembly, designed so that all six degrees of freedom are singly constrained. This...
lens testing equipment
Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...
infrared light-emitting diode
An infrared light-emitting diode (IR LED) is a semiconductor device that emits infrared light when an electric current...
iris
The adjustable membrane located just in front of the crystalline lens within the eye. The iris gives the eye its color. See...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
optical axis
The imaginary line passing through both the centers of curvatures of the optical surfaces of a lens or mirror; the optical...
McClatchey model
Calculation of gas and aerosol transmission and emission characteristics for several model atmospheres, including two model...
Michelson-Morley experiment
An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by...
near-field region
The area closest to an aperture or source where the diffraction pattern differs substantially from that observed at an...
vertical external cavity surface-emitting laser
A laser that has a surface-emitting semiconductor gain element coupled to an external mirror designed to complete the laser...
stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy
Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) is a superresolution microscopy technique that enables imaging of...
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...
equivalent wavelength
In surface height measurement of optics with steep slopes, the use of two short visible wavelengths to synthesize a longer,...
liquid crystal light valve
A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the...
distributed feedback laser
A distributed feedback laser (DFB laser) is a type of semiconductor laser diode designed to emit coherent, narrow-bandwidth...
impurity level
In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...
GaN distributed feedback lasers
GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium...
charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital...
bit mapping
In computer graphics, the assignment of each pixel on a display screen to its own switch in the computer memory.
band spectrum
A spectrum that originates from molecules and that is composed of bands which, in turn, consist of many closely spaced...
law of reversibility
In physics, the law of reversibility is often associated with the concept of reversibility in thermodynamics. The law...
visually coupled airborne systems simulator
A visual system including a tiny television tube and imaging optics, all contained in a helmet to be worn by pilots in...
computer graphics
Computer output in the form of pictorial representation (graphs, charts, drawings, etc.) that is displayed visually.
Schmidt camera
A camera that consists of a concave spherical mirror with an aspheric plate situated at the center of curvature of the...
convergence
1. In optics, the bending of light rays toward each other, as by a convex or positive lens. 2. Turning in the eyes to view a...
silicon photodiode
A silicon photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. It is a type of photodetector...
photodiode
A two-electrode, radiation-sensitive junction formed in a semiconductor material in which the reverse current varies with...
thin-film deposition equipment
Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto...
astronomy
The scientific observation of celestial radiation that has reached the vicinity of Earth, and the interpretation of these...
microfluidics
Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation and control of very small fluid volumes, typically...
chief ray
The ray that passes through the center of the aperture stop in an optical system. It often is called the principal ray of an...
phase matching
Phase matching is a crucial concept in the field of optics, particularly in nonlinear optics and the generation of coherent...
liquid crystal on silicon
Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based...
acoustical holography
The optical reconstruction of image information contained in a sound field. First the diffraction pattern, formed by an...
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...
image definition area
In computer graphics, the coordinated two-dimensional or three-dimensional area of increased resolution where graphics...
electromagnon
An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
achromatic lens
A lens consisting of two or more elements, usually of crown and flint glass, that has been corrected for chromatic...
molecular motor
A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can...
digital point system
A pixel-based computer graphics system that simulates the tools of an artist.
entrance slit
The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...
additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a manufacturing process that involves creating three-dimensional...
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
image intensifier
An image intensifier, also known as an image intensification tube or image intensification device, is a specialized...
variable-focus condenser
An Abbe condenser in which the upper lens element is fixed. The lower lens may focus the illumination between the elements...
Lorentz oscillator model
The Lorentz oscillator model is a theoretical model used in physics to describe the response of a charged particle (such as...
bionics
The application of observed operational processes of sophisticated living organisms to mechanical and electrical systems in...
photon
A quantum of electromagnetic energy of a single mode; i.e., a single wavelength, direction and polarization. As a unit of...
anisotropy
Anisotropy refers to the property of exhibiting different values or characteristics when measured in different directions....
optical pyrometer
An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives...
metamaterial
Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...
Polarization Imaging
A subsurface imaging technique based upon the polarization of light reflected off an object. The polarization of reflected...
neutralization
In optics, the process of combining two lenses having equal and opposite powers to produce a result having no power.
paraxial
Characteristic of optical analyses that are limited to infinitesimally small apertures. Also called first-order or Gaussian...
Abbe refractometer
Device which measures the index of refraction of glass as well as the dispersion over visible range.
hyperspectral imaging camera
A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide...
structured illumination microscopy
Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an advanced optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the...
CCD image sensor
A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
krypton lamp
An arc lamp that has its cavity filled with krypton to produce a light source with unique characteristics.
nematic phase
A form of liquid crystal with an appearance of moving, threadlike structures, particularly visible when observed in thick...
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible...
second-harmonic generation
Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a nonlinear optical process that occurs when two photons with the same frequency combine...
area scan
Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a...
design and engineering consulting services
Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to...
random access multiphoton microscopy
Also known as RAMP microscopy, random access multiphoton microscopy is a microscopic technique that uses multiple...
rheology
The characteristics of a material that determine its tendency to flow.
gradient-index profile
The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...
photonic integrated circuit
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...
laser pointer
Handheld optical laser device containing a semiconductor or DPSS source. The output is corrected via internal collimating...
particle acceleration
Particle acceleration refers to the process by which charged particles, such as electrons or protons, gain kinetic energy...

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