The instrument used to collect thermal radiation information on an object by scanning. It consists basically of a detector, a photoconductive element that converts incident radiation to an electrical signal. The thermal radiation is focused onto the...

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

A spectrum that displays the distribution in mass or in mass-to-charge ratio of ionized atoms, molecules or molecular parts....

An optical instrument used to determine the distance to a target being viewed. Two similar optical systems view the target...

An optical instrument designed to permit the visual examination of the interior of the bronchi.

MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...

Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...

A type of spectroscopy used extensively in the analysis of biological samples. Because most biologically synthesized...

In optical fiber, sharp but microscopic curvatures that create local axial displacements of a few microns and spatial...

A microscope design that involves apertures inserted in conjugate plane positions inside the microscope, with one aperture...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used...

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

An optical medical instrument that uses an intense, precisely focused beam of light to stop weakened blood vessels from...

An optical instrument used to isolate a narrow bandwidth of optical radiation using a diffraction grating as the dispersive...

A telescope so manufactured that the image remains erect and the position of the eyepiece is unchanged as the line of sight...

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

A forerunner of the modern camera, this instrument had a focusable lens that produced a sharp image on the enclosure...

A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a...

Designating any instrument in which both eyes can be used to view the image to achieve a stereoscopic effect, or merely to...

Graphic evaluation of the operation of a steam thermodynamic cycle of a solar energy system on which enthalpy is plotted...

A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...

An instrumental technique that utilizes the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles as recorded from a mass spectrometer...

A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the...

The ability of the instrument to separate wavelengths that are close together, numerically equal to the ratio of the shorter...

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby all the processing elements are operating under their own local...

A type of photometer calibrated in luminance units (candles per square unit, or lamberts). In photography an exposure meter...

A diode electron tube that contains a heated cathode.

A technique in which a beam of x-rays is directed against a crystal, the atoms of which, because of their lattice...

The adjustment of a binocular instrument so that the lines of sight of both telescopes are parallel.

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

The properties exhibited by a semiconductor as the result of its modification by imperfections and impurities in the crystal.

An instrument that spectrally analyzes the flux reflected from a material. The reflected flux may be total, diffuse or...

A two-fiber optical cable containing two single-fiber cables that are connected by a strip of jacket and that can easily be...

Contains elements which produce lasing., e.g. gain medium, oscillator mirrors as well as housing.

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

An instrument used to record rapidly varying currents or voltages. An oscillograph may consist of a cathode-ray tube...

An instrument for measuring the vertical angle of an object. It usually contains an accurately made protractor, a sensitive...

A line-scan camera, also known as a line-scan image sensor or linear array camera, is a type of digital camera designed to...

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

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light...

A contour mapping technique that uses electronic scanning and sampling techniques instead of a reference grating (see moire...

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

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision...

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

In image processing, the range of available gray levels. In an 8-bit system, the gray scale contains values from 0 to 255.

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

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

An instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to sort out the relative masses of atoms and molecules.The same way an...

A high-frequency pulse-rate laser with an output limited by the heat capacity of the laser medium. Instead of having...

That property of certain optical devices, e.g., a penta prism, that maintains the angular relationship between the entering...

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

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

In a camera, the focusing of an image on the screen located at the camera's film plane. Once the image is in complete focus,...

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

A computer whose architecture contains several CPU chips arranged in parallel. Often used in image processing systems.

A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An...

An instrument that determines, or allows a bombardier to determine, the point in the plane's line of flight at which a bomb...

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

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific...

Remote inspection refers to the process of inspecting, evaluating, or monitoring assets, equipment, infrastructure, or...

An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on...

An instrument designed to record the duration and intensity of solar radiation.

An instrument designed to measure the rate of rotation of components, such as shafts.

An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color...

Made up of three components; for instance yttrium, aluminum and garnet (YAG).

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of...

Also called Geiger-Müller counter. An instrument designed to detect and measure radioactivity through the use of a...

An instrument incorporating an infrared detector assembly, used to analyze carbon dioxide gases and in medical applications...

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

With respect to a television system, a pulse transmitted at the end of each field to break off the cathode-ray beam as it...

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

An instrument designed to produce an x-ray spectrum of a material as an aid in identifying it. This technique is...

The circle that contains the slit, grating and primary astigmatic focus of a concave diffraction grating.

In vivo is a Latin term that translates to "within the living." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and...

An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e....

Holography is a technique used to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images using the principles of interference and...

The investigation of microstructures by an instrument that generates a narrow, highly collimated beam of x-rays.

A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals....

Any known value derived from standard analysis that serves as a reference to the accuracy of an instrument or process in...

Instrument that uses absorption spectroscopy to detect gases in planetary atmospheres. Dispersed incoming radiation is...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on...

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

The partial differential equations for the spatial and time dependence of electric and magnetic fields inside a...

A condenser that forms a hollow cone-shaped beam of light with its focal point in the plane of the specimen. If it is used...

A method of data multiplexing that can provide large, instantaneous bandwidths for busy traffic while permitting slow...

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

A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific...

Noise over a specified frequency range, in which the spectral density is proportional to the frequency instead of being...

A physical variable that is proportionally similar to another variable over a specified range. An analog recording contains...

An assembly of prototype instruments, equipment and/or software designed to perform all the functions of a concept or idea...

The fiber optic connector standard for Nippon Telephone & Telegraph (NTT) installations, developed with Nippon Electric...

A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite characterized by its standardized size and modular design. CubeSats are...

A metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode is a type of photodetector that consists of metal electrodes on a semiconductor...

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

A position inside a crystal lattice that is not one of the proper lattice sites in the crystal. Impurity ions of the proper...

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

A system of sensors and related instrumentation that allows a navigable object (usually a missile) to locate its destination...

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

A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of...

A fast-action shutter inserted between one end of a laser rod and the end mirror; when inserted to prevent emission and then...

A method for obtaining the optical absorption spectra of solids, semisolids, liquids and gases. PAS is inherently...

An instrument designed for laser technology that is used to extract single pulses from the laser and transmit a portion of...

The illumination generally used in microscopy, whereby the specimen appears dark against a light background.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...

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

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

An instrument that reads alphabetic, numerical and special characters by means of a photosensor that measures the varying...

The product of the actual base or baseline of a rangefinder or heightfinder, and the power or magnification of the...

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

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

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

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...

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

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

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

An instrument designed to place nongraphic information, usually generated by a computer, onto photographic film. The...

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

Contains the light or beam path within a laser device. The oscillator uses reflective optical components that are oriented...

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

A photometric instrument having two prisms clamped in optical contact to produce a photometric field with an acute dividing...

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a technique used in photon counting applications, particularly in the...

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

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

Any instrument or system carried by a balloon to the upper atmosphere to measure and record atmospheric information, such as...

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

An electromagnon is a quasiparticle excitation that combines aspects of both magnetism and electric polarization in a...

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with...

A factor, F, indicating the increase in shot noise in an avalanche photodiode as compared with the ideal multiplier, which...

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

An instrument designed to analyze the optical effects of color.

A compact high-pressure light source in which an electrical discharge between electrodes spaced no more than 12 mm apart...

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

Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring substances. These...

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

In general, changes in one oscillation signal caused by another, such as amplitude or frequency modulation in radio which...

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a spectroscopic technique that involves using a laser to excite molecules or atoms,...

Also referred to as a funduscope, an ophthalmoscope is a specialized instrument used by ophthalmologists for observing and...

A photometric instrument used to measure the illumination falling on a surface. It may be photoelectric or visual.

An instrument that measures the wavelengths of an x-ray spectrum by the diffraction of x-rays from a crystal with a given...

A disc whose surface contains recorded digital data at high-packing densities arranged in concentric rings. The data,...

A diagnostic instrument that uses a photocathode design to see a broad range of x-ray radiation by streaking the...

An instrument designed to measure the numerical aperture of an objective.

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

An electron instrument used to reflect an electron beam totally.

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

An instrument used to measure the change of heat content of a system by measuring microwave power in terms of generated heat.

The device, usually made of glass or a similar material, that contains the resonant cavity and optics of a gas laser.

Topology is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the properties of space that are preserved under continuous...

Potential hazards to a system's application and installation, including temperature variations, chemical reactivity,...

A device that accumulates and stores electrical energy to introduce capacitance into a circuit. Basically, it is composed of...

A term applied to an electric charge image in a camera tube that remains for a period of a few frames after its initial...

A term variously applied to remote sensing techniques that essentially refers to all parametric conditions that influence...

See inside vapor-phase oxidation; outside vapor-phase oxidation.

A portable instrument that uses a four-sided reflecting prism or set of mirrors to create a duplicate image of an object on...

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

A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or...

A small defocused Galilean telescope mounted in a hole in a door. Viewed from inside through the positive lens, a wide-angle...

An aberration that remains after primary color is corrected. Primary color causes the back focus of a lens to vary with...

An instrument designed to measure angles in azimuth; used in general topographic work and military gunnery.

A photodetector composed of a semiconductor material whose responsive properties can be altered by the addition of...

A term for thermoplastic optical materials; that is, those in which the polymer chains remain linear after heating and...

The angle between an instrument's line of sight and a reference horizontal plane.

A fiber optic transceiver, often simply referred to as an "optical transceiver," is a device used in fiber optic...

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to...

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

A standard for fiber optic data transmission systems being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and...

An emulsion in which grains of the photosensitive material silver halide are deposited. Each grain, when exposed to light,...

LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to...

Any of a number of instruments that uses a flame to vaporize a solution of the chemical being analyzed so that light may be...

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

Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless...

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

A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized...

A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.

The principle that states that optical instrumentation cannot increase the radiance of a source; the radiance of an image...

In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of...

A technique developed by British Telecom in which the viscous drag of air is used to install optical fibers in narrow...

The electron emission from a substance or instrument whose surface has been bombarded by a suitable amount of radiation.

1. In optics, the housing, usually cylindrical, that contains the lenses and iris diaphragm of a camera. 2. In fiber optics,...

The luminosity that remains in a rarefied gas after an electrodeless discharge has traversed the gas.

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

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a therapeutic approach that utilizes the combination of light, a photosensitizer, and...

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

A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...

Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the...

An instrument that photographs the spectra of an extraterrestrial object.

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

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

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

An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical...

Epitaxial refers to the growth of a crystalline layer on a crystalline substrate in such a way that the orientation of the...

The gas of charged particles that begins approximately 50 km above the surface of the Earth and contains a sufficient...

Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a group of super-resolution microscopy techniques that surpass the...

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

A type of optical fiber loss resulting from the misalignment of fibers in a splice or connector.

An instrument used to record the emittance or reflectance of an object by scanning with discrete spectral resolution over a...

An instrument for eye surgery that directs intense xenon arc light through the transparent cornea lens to the retina where...

An opaque inclusion in glass that contains undissolved or crystalline material. Also known as a seed.

An instrument providing a continuous measure of color.

1. The photosensitive membrane on the inside of the human eye. 2. A scanning mechanism in optical character generation.

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of...

An instrument usually consisting of a very long interferometer, 3 to 800 m, and a laser light source for the study and...

A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates...

An instrument that is used to detect high-energy particles by the pulse of the current formed when a particle passes through...

A bench with instrumentation including a collimator, a microscope, positioners and a nodal slide used to rotate a lens about...

Instrumentation designed to permit the perception, recording or measurement of scenes under conditions of low incident...

In a crystalline substance, the spectral range of states of energy that contains the crystal's binding valence electrons.

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

A nonmagnetic instrument utilizing an electrofocus and deflection tube with a photocathode for imaging purposes. The optical...

A lens with a surface that is a cone instead of the usual sphere.

A photometer screen that contains a diaphragm of paper or parchment with a translucent central spot of oil or paraffin.

An instrument that transforms heat energy into electrical energy.

In coherence theory, an optical law put forth by physicist Emil Wolf that explains the behavior of light as it travels away...

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

An instrument capable of precise measurements of the Earth's gravity. This permits the detection of small changes in local...

A lumen is a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of luminous flux, which is the perceived power of light. In...

An LED, or light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs...

A photographic recording instrument that measures deviation from the vertical of a drilled well or mine.

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

Exhibiting the characteristic of materials that are electrical insulators or in which an electric field can be sustained...

A fiber optic device that uses a HeNe laser, beamsplitter, monochromator and photomultiplier to detect trace levels of...

A mirror composed of liquid, taking advantage of the parabolic shape of a spinning liquid and the fact that the mirror's...

Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) refers to the portion of the infrared spectrum that encompasses wavelengths roughly between...

An instrument that measures the angle at which a prism can couple laser light into an optical waveguide; used to determine...

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

Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...

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

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

A sudden, brief increase in current or voltage in a circuit that can damage sensitive components and instruments. Preventive...

An instrument consisting essentially of a photoelectric cell filtered to respond to a specified wavelength region, an...

A graphic reproduction of an object formed by a microscope or another optical system. Also an instrument used to make tiny...

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

An instrument used for viewing in low levels of illumination by means of infrared radiation. A high-aperture lens forms an...

An instrument that serves to produce an enlarged electron image on a fluorescent screen by focusing an infrared image of a...

Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...

A quantitative measure of the amount of radiation given off by an instrument, expressed in roentgens per unit of free air.

The focusing of an electron beam by a magnetic field that permanently retains the majority of its magnetic properties.

An instrument used to detect and measure radiant energy by the formation of a chemical reaction.

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

A type of laser used when a great amount of power is required. Avoiding the bulk of large numbers of optical lenses, this...

An instrument designed to give a visual indication to the pilot when the plane has strayed from a specific flight path.

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

The lateral distance between a vertical line drawn through the geometrical center of the distance portion of a multifocal,...

Fluorescent proteins are proteins that exhibit the property of fluorescence, which is the ability to absorb light at a...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...

The process of mapping the infrared emittance of an area through the use of an infrared detector and related scanning...

A crude area on the polished surface, produced during coarse grinding, that subsequent fine grinding does not remove, owing,...

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

1. A faint second image caused by reflection that is sometimes seen when observing through an optical instrument. 2. With...

The breakdown of the bonds in polymer chains caused by illumination.

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or...

Reflectance spectroscopy is a technique used to analyze the reflective properties of materials across various wavelengths of...

Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate...

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

A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...

A reticle pattern in a surveying instrument consisting of parallel lines that can be superimposed on a calibrated rod,...

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

Histochemical staining is a laboratory technique used in biology and medicine to visualize specific chemical components...

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

An instrument consisting of a high-voltage vacuum tube used to form hard x-rays or high-speed ion beams. By partitioning the...

Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the...

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

An instrument that produces an intense, tightly focused beam of ions to stimulate emissions from a minute section of a...

Medical diagnostic (x-ray) imaging using laser printers to produce high-resolution digital hard copy instead of film exposed...

A high-resolution imaging instrument that can detect and measure the positions of individual atoms on the surface of a...

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

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

The control of an instrument or electrical circuit by the current produced by varying radiation incident to a photoelectric...

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

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

In television, a lateral displacement of the lines from their normal position due to the instability of a synchronizing...

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

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

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

The separation between the exit pupils of a binocular instrument. This usually is adjustable so that it can be set equal to...

An optical instrument designed to displace the line of sight in a vertical direction. For submarines and other military uses...

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

Lensless microscopy, also known as computational or holographic microscopy, is an imaging technique that captures and...

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

Laser texturing is a manufacturing process that involves using a laser beam to selectively modify the surface of a material,...

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

A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics....

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

An instrument used to measure expansion of solids, liquids and gases.

Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...

An instrument designed to measure the index of refraction of a gas by the interference patterns formed by two beams, one of...

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

The perceived brightness of an object being viewed at some distance, especially through an optical instrument.

A platform mount used to hold sensitive optical instruments immobile.

An impurity-doped silicon detector array sensitive to long infrared wavelengths, installed in optical collecting systems...

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

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...

RTSP, or real-time streaming protocol, is a network control protocol designed for controlling streaming media servers. It is...

Structural color refers to coloration in materials that is not caused by pigments or dyes but is instead a result of the...

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

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

A container designed to hold recording material (film, video- and audiotape) so that when it is loaded into a recording...

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

An instrument for measuring the intensity of solar radiation.

A method that produces low-loss optical fibers. A glass tube rotates while reactants pass through the tube and heat is...

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

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

A form of liquid crystal widely used in displays, achieved by sandwiching a liquid crystal material between two substrates...

Although low in sensitivity (approximately 10-7 m for helium-neon lasers), this holographic technique permits quantitative...

A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the...

A crucible made of electrically resistive material through which a current is passed to heat the material inside, which then...

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

An instrument designed to measure the proportion of light emitted by a source in the blue region of the spectrum.

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

An instrument in which an object's image, produced by a lens of known focal length, is used to determine the object's...

An instrument designed to produce very hard x-rays by the acceleration of electrons in a varying magnetic field.

An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives...

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

An automatic scanning instrument that is used to study a substance's fluorescence over a wide range of wavelengths. It...

The intensification of a latent image, because of exposure to light to which the emulsion is otherwise insensitive.

A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or...

An instrument similar to the spectroheliograph, but having a scanning method that is performed by a pair of rapidly...

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

A telescope that produces an erect image. Erection is achieved either by a lens (for a long instrument) or a prism (for a...

An aperture, usually rectangular in shape, with a large length-to-width ratio, and a fixed or adjustable shape through which...

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

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

A scintillation crystal, also known simply as a scintillator, is a material that emits light when it interacts with ionizing...

Plastic in which the polymer chains become irreversibly joined during molding. The cross-linking can be achieved by heating,...

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

1. In optics, the bending of rays away from each other. 2. In lasers, the spreading of a laser beam with increased distance...

An endoscopic surgical instrument that includes a channel for the introduction of supplementary instruments.

An instrument used to measure the coordinates of a point on an object such as a photographic plate.

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

Also known as ocular. The lens system used between the final real image in a visual optical system and eye. It acts as an...

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

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...

Three proportional coefficients labeled Am, Bmn, and Bnm, that respectively characterize the rate of spontaneous emission,...

A laser that emits energy in a series of short bursts or pulses and that remains inactive between each burst or pulse. The...

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

An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...

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

Also known as integrated exposure. A measurement of light from sources that vary rapidly with time, defined as the integral...

An image-forming instrument in which a strong electrostatic field causes cold emission of electrons from a sharply rounded...

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

A device used for measuring the height of clouds from a position on the ground. Measurement technique uses a vertically...

The first nonlinear theory in plasma physics that details the time and space evolution of plasma wave instability from a...

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...

An evacuated bulb containing a tungsten filament that is heated by passing an electric current through it. In domestic light...

Line scan refers to a method of capturing images or data by scanning a single line at a time, as opposed to capturing the...

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

An instrument used to recognize and identify incident radiation by the ionizing or stimulating properties of the radiation.

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

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

An instrument designed to calculate the amplitude and phase of the different harmonic elements of a radiation wave utilizing...

An antigen is any substance that is capable of triggering an immune response in an organism. Antigens are typically proteins...

In the fabrication of an optical fiber, a layer that can be used to create a boundary against OH-ion diffusion into the core.

An optical instrument designed for the visual examination of the inside of the stomach.

1. A generic term for detector. 2. A complete optical/mechanical/electronic system that contains some form of radiation...

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...

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

An instrument used to record sound, pictures or both on a magnetic tape for storage and playback.

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

A linear image sensor is a type of solid-state electronic device used to capture and convert light into electrical signals....

A spectroscopic process that detects and analyzes the discharge from an extrinsic surface with less than bandgap light. This...

A substance that transmits the infrared, but which is too delicate or fragile to be used in the form of a single crystal....

A reflection grating is an optical component that consists of a series of closely spaced, parallel reflecting surfaces or...

A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect...

Instruments used by ophthalmologists and optometrists to study the eye. There are, for instance, the ophthalmoscope to...

The technology of manipulating light on a micro scale. In optical communications, this is usually accomplished using two or...

A dome-shaped structure used for some optical instruments in place of a flat window. The transparent material should be of...

A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure...

In laser welding or heat treating, the instantaneous laser beam power per unit area. This parameter is key in determining...

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

A mid-infrared camera is a type of imaging device designed to capture images in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range,...

Photolithography is a key process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and...

An infrared light source is a device that emits light in the infrared spectrum, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of...

Image enhancement operations that involve altering gray-scale values. For instance, brightness sliding involves adding or...

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

It is often necessary to estimate the value of what a pixel would be between neighboring pixels. This is accomplished by...

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

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates...

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

Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...

Specified curved optic intended for maximum collection of light, including off-axis rays, before leaving the exit aperture.

An instrument for the detection of the energy distribution of b-particles and secondary electrons.

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

A fluorographic method whereby the sensitive photographic medium is pressed against a fluorescent screen to form a visible...

A structured light device using a rapidly rotating laser to project a beam of light that appears to the human eye as a...

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

Unused fiber; fiber that has been installed but reserved for future use. Carrying no light.

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...

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

Capability requirement for optical switches for transmission lines to process arbitrarily polarized light because of the...

The photoemission that would occur if a crystal were pure and its structure perfect.

The arrangement of two Porro prisms so that the inverted image formed by certain types of optical instruments is the same as...

The ray that has an isotropic speed and maintains a uniform polarization in all propagation directions when traveling in a...

An InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) camera is a type of imaging device that utilizes InGaAs sensors to capture images in the...

A type of recording in which the recording line remains fixed and the recording medium is fed past the recording device.

An event-based image sensor, also known as a dynamic vision sensor (DVS), is a type of digital imaging device designed to...

A color whose hue is not produced by a single wavelength in the visible spectrum, but is instead produced by mixing the...

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

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

A lack of resolution in a television image as a result of smear ghosts or an insufficiently high video-frequency response....

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing...

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

An instrument for measuring reflectance.

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

A device used to detect and measure small amounts of rotation. The rotating object contains a reflecting surface from which...

The growth of particular grain fragments in a metal or alloy, at the expense of others, that occurs when the metal or alloy...

A whole-flow-field technique providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements in a cross-section of a flow that is...

An imaging technique used in radiology that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to produce...

Fluorescence produced as a result of the intrinsic property of the material itself or the doping of the material with trace...

An instrument used to measure backscatter as well as optical return loss and reflectance within an optical fiber system by...

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

Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA...

A zone plate produced by a computer and having a binary structure that can be etched into a chromium or quartz layer. It...

An emission spectrum consisting of bright bands against a dark background.

The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such...

An instrument that uses a crystal to diffract x-rays for the measurement of the intensities of the diffracted rays.

An instrument for measuring the radius of curvature of a spherical lens or mirror surface. It may consist of a ring resting...

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

A plate of glass, usually a photograph, on which there is a central spot surrounded by concentric annular zones, alternately...

Fluorescence lifetime refers to the average time it takes for a fluorophore, a molecule that absorbs light at one wavelength...

The term photochemical pertains to chemical processes or reactions that are initiated or influenced by the absorption of...

Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...

Raman spectroscopy is a technique used in analytical chemistry and physics to study vibrational, rotational, and other...

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

A small half-shade analyzer placed in the eyepiece of a polarimeter to determine the character of the polarized light...

An optogenetic technique that embeds genetically-engineered proteins to the heart to aid in terminating arrhythmias. After...

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

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

A beam instability, induced by index of refraction inhomogeneities and component damage of dirt and dust particles, that...

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

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a...

A Babinet compensator that contains the controlled motion of one prism with respect to the other. This idea was introduced...

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

1. In relation to cathode-ray tube displays, errors in the signal's amplitude, phase or both that result in small, rapid...

An image that is reversed contour or inside-out.

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

A measuring instrument composed of a microscope and reticle, and mounted on a calibrated slide mechanism. May be used...

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics, particularly in...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...

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

Loss intrinsic to the fiber caused by parameter (core dimension, profile parameter) mismatches when two nonidentical fibers...

A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical,...

An instrument that uses optical filtration in order to measure the transmittance for a discrete range or specific number of...

A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual...

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

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...

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

An instrument for detecting or measuring small electric currents.

An interferometer spectrometer designed to measure thicknesses of thin films or layers by recording the interferogram and by...

Spectroscopy is a technique used in the study of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It involves...

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

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive analytical technique that uses the near-infrared region of the...

A crystal that is devoid of any mosaic structure and that can reflect x-rays, relative to the Darwin-Ewald-Prins law.

A device that combines electronic and optical techniques to form a monitored infrared signal between 1 and 14 µm. It...

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

A strong, heat-resistant glass that contains a minimum of 5 percent boric oxide.

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

A photoanalytical instrument for analysis of jaundice conditions in infants that measures bilirubin (a breakdown product of...

An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...

A laser that relies on chemical activity instead of electrical energy to produce the pumping action necessary to form pulses...

An instrument that employs the interference of lightwaves to measure the accuracy of optical surfaces; it can measure a...

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

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

A mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) is a type of electronic test instrument that combines the capabilities of both a...

A ray that lies in the meridional plane; a ray that lies in the plane that contains the optical axis. A tangential ray.

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

A framework or latticework having an even arrangement of rods, or any other long narrow objects with interstices between...

A device that prevents electrons from a saturated pixel in a CCD imaging device from spilling into an adjacent pixel. The...

A beamsplitter is an optical device for dividing a beam into two or more separate beams. A simple beamsplitter may be a very...

The tendency to adjust an instrument such as a microscope so that the viewed image appears much closer than infinity.

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

A camera system used to form a high-precision hologram of the subject on a photographic plate. It contains a high-power...

An instrument that uses an erbium:glass laser to determine cloud height from the ground.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology that uses a high-power...

Radiation emitted when a quantum mechanical system drops spontaneously from an excited level to a lower level. This...

An instrument for measuring opacity.

The plane diagram produced by plotting one of the three chromaticity coordinates (X,Y,Z) against another. The most common...

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

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

An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...

A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a highly sensitive vacuum tube that detects and amplifies low levels of light. It is widely...

An optical instrument, generally a polarizing microscope, that is used to determine the interference figures and optical...

Quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) is a display technology that utilizes quantum dots, which are semiconductor...

The rotation of an instrument (or the line of sight of an optical system) in a horizontal plane; transverse.

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

Agents used for testing light sources and natural daylight with visual and instrumental assessment using a set of white...

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

1. A strainmeter capable of measuring the change in the relationship between two reference points, provided that the points...

An instrument used to measure the temperature of a source through the use of photoelectric cells to detect and measure the...

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

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

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that involves the use of artificial neural networks to model and solve complex...

Trade name referring to an instrument that determines surface distances by measuring the length of time it takes for a...

Gram-positive bacteria are a group of bacteria that have a thick cell wall composed primarily of a substance called...

An apparatus, designed for use with a camera, that is used to rapidly open the path from lens to film, to maintain the...

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

1. Voltage at which a PN junction begins to pass a current. 2. In a solid-state lamp, the voltage at which light is first...

Photoconductivity due to the addition of impurities or external causes.

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

The instrument used to analyze a pulsed electromagnetic wave to determine its time, amplitude, duration and shape, and to...

Hardware installed on fiber cable ends to provide cable attachment to a transmitter, receiver or other cable. Usually a...

Also known as the Bragg spectrometer. A system used for the x-ray analysis of crystal structure. In the instrument, a...

A flanged or plain ring with a restricted aperture, located in an optical system at any of several points, that cuts off...

A microdensitometer that contains a scanning stage to provide simultaneous representations of position vs. density.

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

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

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

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

A material often used in the construction of optical instruments because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion (0.9 x...

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

An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...

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

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

A semiconductor made up of two or more elements, in contrast to those composed of a single element such as germanium or...

Laser lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses laser energy to break down or fragment stones in various parts of the...

Made up of four elements; for instance, gadolinium, scandium, gallium and garnet (GSGG).

An instrument consisting essentially of a tube 160 mm long, with an objective lens at the distant end and an eyepiece at the...

A simple form of astronomical telescope that uses a fixed objective and a focusable eyepiece. The objective forms an...

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

A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind)...

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

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to obtain high-resolution,...

Compilation of the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories that contains values of the line parameters of the 1-0 bands of...

An instrument used to measure the duration of fluorescence emanating from a biological sample to monitor and evaluate its...

The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...

A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater...

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

A phenomenon in which high optical power, encountering an imperfection in an optical fiber, destroys the fiber's core and...

An instrument that detects high-energy charged particles by analysis of the Cerenkov radiation that they emit.

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

An imaging device whose technology contributes three specific advantages: ability to study large solid specimens that...

A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material...

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

A still or motion-picture camera designed to photograph through a microscope. Photomicrographic equipment usually contains a...

An approach to optical character recognition based on matching the input character against a set of stored prototypes.

A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical...

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

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...

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

An instrument used to support optical parts to be cemented, or to be mounted in plaster.

An instrument used to detect and measure the energy distribution of gamma rays. It has been used to chart the radioactivity...

An electronic tube instrument in which the anode current varies with the intensity of light incident on the cathode.

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

A small handheld instrument consisting of a slit and collimator that feeds light into a small direct-vision dispersing...

A device for the internal inspection of hard-to-get-at mechanical parts, such as rifle barrels, sewer pipes, oil wells, or...

The partially reflective mirror at the end of the laser cavity that is the source of the beam. It controls the coupling...

An imaging technique that labels all gray pixels as either black or white before processing begins.

An emitter based on stimulated emission with amplification but insufficient feedback for oscillation to build up.

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

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

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

The total optical power loss caused by the insertion of an optical component such as a connector, splice or coupler into a...

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

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

A method of producing high-quality plastic optics in large volumes by injecting the heated, liquified plastic at high...

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small...

A defect of a binocular instrument causing two images to be seen separately instead of being fused. It is caused when the...

Any source that emits radiation of wavelengths between 100 and 300 nm. Instruments used to study these sources must be...

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an advanced imaging technique used in microscopy to measure and analyze the optical...

An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...

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

An instrument used to test the hardness of various materials. It measures the pressure on a standard point that is necessary...

A spectrum having some lines that are darker than others or that contrast against a light, continuous-spectrum background.

A nondestructive test, also referred to as LASAT, that uses a high-energy laser pulse that is targeted on an adhesively...

A system that uses infrared detectors and related instrumentation to determine when abnormal amounts of infrared radiation,...

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

1. The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 in. or 3.28 ft. 2. Any device or instrument used for...

The resistance of individual grains of an abrasive to breaking down under pressure. If the grains break down under...

A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This...

An abundant material found in the form of quartz and agate and as one of the major constituents of sand. The silicates of...

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

Calculated at a given point in a medium as the instantaneous pressure at that point in the presence of a sound wave, minus...

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

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a powerful imaging instrument used in scientific research, materials...

A traveling microscope or an automatic microdensitometer used to measure the spectrum plate obtained in a spectrograph.

A phage, short for bacteriophage, is a type of virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. Phages are composed of...

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

An instrument that uses a photoelectric system to determine the size and volume of dust particles in a given unit of air.

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

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

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

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state...

See eye test apparatus; ophthalmic instruments.

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

A method used in facsimile scanning that sweeps the elemental area across the copy in a spiral motion as the result of the...

An instrument used to measure the light from a scene to be photographed and to indicate the camera lens and shutter settings...

The slope of the curve when output is plotted against input for quantum efficiency in a device.

A miniature projecting device designed to enhance and reproduce the image generated by a smaller image-forming instrument....

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

The angular width of a radiation beam. With respect to a conical beam of light, it is the vertex angle of the cone. The...

Synonym of extrinsic fiber loss.

A method of depositing crystalline films one molecular layer at a time, by dipping the substrate into water containing a...

Photometry is the branch of science that deals with the measurement of light, particularly in terms of its intensity and the...

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

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

A device that measures the intensity of photochemically active radiation, particularly from the sun. One form of this...

A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...

An instrument that uses a photocell to detect and measure the intensity of incident light.

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

A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer is an analytical instrument used to measure the absorption, transmission, or reflection...

The effect in which photons are absorbed and excite the electrons; the electrons move from the valence band to the...

A spectrophotometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the intensity of light at various wavelengths in the...

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

An instrument for determining the sensitivity of a photographic film to light. The film is given either a stepped exposure...

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

The region of the cathode-ray tube phosphor screen restricted by the tube and instrument specification.

A powerful and flexible machine-learning approach that can be used in machine vision to help solve difficult problems....

The locus of points in a system along a line that remains stationary while the remainder of the system rotates.

An accurate metal prism or plane parallel plate that is cemented to an optical element and remains with it during a series...

Sapphire crystal refers to a transparent, single-crystal form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) known as corundum. It is one of the...

A blank area (caused by insufficient inking of the paper) that falls within the range of an intended character stroke in an...

The total scattering attributable to the intrinsic properties of the materials through which an optical wave is propagating.

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

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

Any of the photoelectric and thermal detectors, spectrographs and monochromators, thermographs, scanners, amplifier tubes,...

In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...

A process used in the design, repair and customization of integrated circuits. A low-power laser etches a silicon wafer...

A spectrophotometer in which the beam emitted by the radiation source is split into beams that travel through the sample and...

An instrument for plotting the rotatory dispersion of a substance at different wavelengths.

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

A device, either visual or electronic, that emits signals to identify set positions for use in the navigation of aircraft...

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

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

Photoelastic equipment and supplies refer to instruments and materials used in photoelasticity, a technique used to analyze...

An instrument capable of measuring the transmitted or reflected luminance from a very small area seen under a microscope....

A photon-counting instrument for use in both space-borne and ground-based photometric and spectroscopic instrumentation....

A thin layer of a substance deposited on an insulating base in a vacuum by a microelectronic process. Thin films are most...

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

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

A radar system that uses electro-optic rather than microwave instrumentation and methods to perform its acquisition and...

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

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital...

Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...

A gyroscope is a mechanical device consisting of a spinning disk or wheel mounted on a spinning axis in such a way that its...

An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are...

An instrument used to detect the fluorescence emitted by a source in comparison with a reference.

Ratiometry is a technique used in various scientific fields, particularly in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, to...

Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and...

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

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

In a general sense, any one of a class of instruments used to disperse radiation, visible or invisible, into its component...

An instrument used to detect radioactive materials: alpha particles or helium nuclei; beta particles or free electrons; and...

The process whereby a rotating wheel carries grains of an abrasive, suspended in a vehicle, across the surface of the...

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

An instrument designed to give precise and rapid detection of changes in tumor growth as well as the location of small...

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

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

A type of solar eclipse that occurs when the sun is at perihelion and the moon is at apogee. Because the apparent size of...

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

A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...

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

Design and engineering consulting services refer to professional services provided by specialized firms or individuals to...

In image processing, mathematical operations that change spatial geometry, as for instance scaling, translating, rotating or...

The measurement and analysis of color using a photoelectric instrument having three filters with broad spectrum bands.

An instrument used to print an optical image on a specially treated paper. Light and dark portions of the original image are...

The mathematical set of equations showing the relationship between oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are...

A type of thermoset rubber used to jacket fiber optic cables, including those used in outdoor military installations.

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

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

A photodetector composed of a photoconductive material that, when exposed to radiation, conducts without the aid of added...

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

An instrument that contains a spectrograph with a grating in which an array of slits, in place of a photographic plate, is...

Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera,...

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

Micro-robotics refers to the field of robotics that involves the design, development, and application of miniature robotic...

An instrument designed to collect naturally formed extraterrestrial electromagnetic radiation within the radio frequency...

An instrument that uses an image intensifier to aid in the viewing of subjects in low-light-level environments.

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

A handheld navigational instrument used to measure the elevation angle of celestial bodies such as the sun. An image of the...

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

The absorption of a photon raising an electron across the forbidden gap from valence to conduction band of the semiconductor...

Light-absorbing material that is applied to the back support of any bright image under inspection to prevent the formation...

A device using a parametric amplifier inside a resonant optical cavity to generate a frequency-tunable coherent beam of...

The horizontal distance between the 90° meridian of a bifocal lens and the geometrical center of the segment.

Also known as a pyrradiometer. An instrument that is designed to measure heat radiation nonselectively; e.g., the...

An instrument used to measure the refractive index of solids and liquids. Several types exist, the most common being the...

A theoretical instrument conceived of as a box that receives a beam of radiation of any arbitrary polarization angle and...

Coating carried out in a sealed chamber evacuated by a mechanical pump in series with an oil diffusion pump to a pressure...

Spectra can be conveniently recorded on photographic film or plates. The portions that are occupied by regions of the...

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within...

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also...

In biology, particularly genetics and evolutionary biology, the phenotype refers to the observable characteristics or traits...

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

A type of paper chromatography that produces a chromatogram that is horizontal instead of vertical.

The surface of an element of a compound lens that will produce the cemented interface. The curves of this interface are...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...

In data communications, the instrumentation connecting two stations: transmitters, receivers and the cable that runs between...

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

An instrument used to determine the absolute or relative scatter levels of optical surfaces.

A scale on an optical instrument that indicates the condition of focus. May indicate the distance to the object or diopter...

Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the...

An optical tooling instrument consisting of an objective lens, a focusing lens, an optical micrometer, a reticle and an...

In the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture...

The holographic recording of a microscopic specimen whereby magnification is achieved by alteration in a wavelength or...

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

A test for spherical aberration, coma or astigmatism in which incident rays from a point source are isolated by small holes...

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

Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic...

An instrument that can preselect intervals, often in increments of 1, 10 or 100 ns, for the generation of electronic pulses...

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging and measurement instrument used in nanotechnology, materials...

The broadening of a laser's line width in a way that affects every atom (or molecule), and thus the whole system, in the...

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

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

A type of refractometer designed to measure the refractive indices of liquids. A section of the instrument is immersed into...

An instrument for measuring the diameter of the human eye pupil.

An inspection device in which the profile of a mechanical part is projected onto a ground-glass screen at a precisely known...

Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.

A nondestructive testing method for very large scale integration circuits, using a scanning electron microscope to monitor...

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

The prism used in a rangefinder to bend the lines of sight through the instruments into the eyepieces.

A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...

The line that divides the two half-images in a coincidence rangefinder. The two halves of the images formed by the two...

Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...

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

An instrument for measuring the brightness (luminance) of a scene. It may be a spot meter, covering an area of a degree or...

A mask-alignment microscope used to produce and inspect microcircuits in the electronics industry. It provides flat-field,...

That length over which energy in two separate waves remains constant. With respect to a laser, the greatest distance between...

A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...

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

Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when...

A nonluminous area around a negatively charged probe that is inserted into the positive column of an arc or glow discharge.

In computer graphics, the point on the display screen where the electron beam is located before the display instruction is...

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

Small tungsten lamp used in surgical instruments such as cystoscopes, and for other purposes where space is limited.

Parallel scanning refers to a method of acquiring data or images simultaneously from multiple sources or in parallel, rather...

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

Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly...

An instrument or system capable of both transmitting and receiving a signal.

A method of measuring distance by recording a single scene from two points of perspective. Surveying instruments can be...

An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of...

In vitro is a Latin term that translates to "in glass." In scientific contexts, particularly in biology and medicine, it...

Also referred to as the width of the dark pulse. This is the time interval between the instant the particle approaches the...

A semiconductor formed by applying a particular single-crystal layer to the specific insulator.

Intravital microscopy is an imaging technique used to visualize biological processes within living organisms, typically in...

A small low-power microscope or magnifier with a scale that is used to measure the exit pupil diameter and eye relief on...

1. A measure of absorbed dose, equal to the energy imparted by ionizing radiation to a mass of matter corresponding to 1 J...

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

A prism or prism assembly that serves to displace the instrument's optical axis.

1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an...

A printing process of electrostatic electrophotography that uses a photoconductive insulating medium, in conjunction with...

An instrument that divides a single laser beam in two and uses one half as a sensing beam and the other as a reference beam,...

A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a...

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

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

A display device that contains an inert gas that gives off orange light when a high voltage is applied to ionize the gas.

A device for measuring absorption coefficients in which a confined, nonabsorbing gas fills the space inside the cell between...

A lens that is symmetrical and designed to work between 1:1 and about 4:1. It covers a field of about ±20° at f/8...

The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...

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

A device used to detect elevation, pyramid and resolution errors in prisms and other components by bringing them into...

An optical test table made up of two outer layers or "skins'' bonded to either side of a honeycomblike core, usually of...

The series of interference bands that appear in the spectrum when a specified glass plate is inserted into a spectroscope,...

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

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

Sputtering equipment is machinery used in the process of physical vapor deposition (PVD), specifically sputtering....

1. The process of wearing down the surface of a softer material by rubbing it under pressure against the surface of a harder...

Unlike the thermocouple or bolometer, the pyroelectric infrared detector is a current source with an output proportional to...

An instrument, similar in design to regular binoculars, that can transmit and enlarge infrared images.

A stimulus that contains equal energy at each wavelength in the visible region of the spectrum.

The splitting of an element's spectral line as the result of the interactions between the electron spin and the spins of...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the...

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin...

1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting...

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

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...

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

A glow discharge tube placed on an insulating rod to detect the presence of high-frequency radiation in the vicinity of a...

Fluorescence microscopy is a specialized optical imaging technique used in biology, chemistry, and materials science to...

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

A device used to measure the opening time of a shutter. The most common devices depend on the charging or discharging of an...

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

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

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

Gram-negative bacteria are a group of bacteria that possess a cell envelope composed of a thin layer of peptidoglycan...

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

A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...

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

A variable focal length lens system that retains the object in focus as one or more lenses move as a unit along its optical...

An approximated measure of the smallest change in color temperature detectable by the human eye, defined as the reciprocal...

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

An optical instrument that uses a yellow light of varying intensity with red and blue lights of fixed intensity to test for...

An interferometer formed by two similar concave spherical mirrors arranged with the center of one sphere on the other...

Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...

Postulated by Einstein in his theory of relativity. They are waves traveling at the speed of light and exerting force on...

A reflecting prism that is rhomboidal in shape. It has two parallel transmitting faces, and two parallel reflecting faces;...

A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and quantum information...

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against...

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...

The process by which a substance, usually a solid, attracts and retains on its surface the molecules of another substance.

A gradual change in the output of a circuit or instrument over time.

An instrument used for video or computer data storage in which a laser optical head is used to write digital information...

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

Fine lines, wires or threads used in the focal plane of many optical instruments to point out and locate particular objects...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly...

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

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

An ophthalmic instrument used to measure the magnitude and direction of the maximum and minimum powers of a spectacle lens,...

An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...

The vertical angular disparity between the lines of sight of the left and right systems in a binocular instrument....

A type of glass used in near-infrared optical components, in which germanium is used as a cation instead of silicon.

A type of cable made up of two conductors; one conductor is inside of and concentric with the other.

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

An instrument designed to measure radiation indirectly through the use of several phosphors and a photomultiplier tube. The...

Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular...

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a nondestructive analytical technique used to investigate the optical properties...

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

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...

Whole slide imaging (WSI), also known as virtual slide microscopy or digital pathology, is a technology that involves the...

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

An optical coupling device that uses light to bridge the gap between incompatible wire communications systems. It contains...

The process of transferring collected energy from solar radiation into a heat-absorbing medium (e.g., an insulated tank of...

A diffraction grating is an optical component consisting of a surface with a periodic structure of equally spaced, parallel...

An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently...

The method by which photographic film is scanned by an electron beam. One technique uses the uniform light of a television...

A piezoelectric translator that moves up and down a spindle like a caterpillar. It clamps itself at one end, expands, clamps...

Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...

An optical cable that is connector terminated. Generally, an optical cable that has been terminated by a manufacturer and is...

Van der Waals forces refer to the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules (or parts of molecules) that arise from...