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PI Physik Instrumente - Semiconductor Applications 5/24 ROS LB
MPE Dictionary Terms

white balance
A feature of some imaging devices, such as digital cameras, that allows them to compensate for different lighting conditions...
hackle
A defect in the cleaved end face of an optical fiber, defined as multiple surface irregularities across the fiber surface. A...
temperature-sensitive coating
A coating having pigments that change color when exposed to heat. This effect has been widely used to monitor hot spots in...
Silsbee effect
The ability of an electrical current to destroy superconductivity by means of the magnetic field generated by the current....
fiber Bragg grating
A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It...
dye-polymer optical disc
A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a...
environmental parameters
Potential hazards to a system's application and installation, including temperature variations, chemical reactivity,...
lumen
A lumen is a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of luminous flux, which is the perceived power of light. In...
devitrification
The process by which a vitreous or amorphous substance forms a crystal structure at a specified temperature.
infrared bolometer
A superconducting bolometer, operating at very low temperatures, that is used to detect infrared radiation.
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that...
microdensitometer
The fundamental tool of microdensitometry, the microdensitometer is an instrument used for the precise measurement of...
luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in...
vibrational transition
A vibrational transition refers to a change in the vibrational energy of a molecule. Molecules consist of atoms that are...
image motion compensation
The active control of various aspects (optical element position, airspace thickness, etc.) of an optical system that...
photochemical hole burning
A method of producing disks for erasable optical data storage. Information is recorded by a laser beam that generates pits...
disc laser
A laser having a rod that is a stacked array of discs immersed in a transparent flowing coolant fluid. In this way, the...
topological photonics
Topological photonics is a branch of physics and optics that explores the application of topological concepts to the...
mode hopping
Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal...
pseudo-second-derivative
A method used to approximate the values of the homogeneous second derivatives at each iteration in the course of lens design...
InGaAs photodiode
An InGaAs photodiode refers to a photodetector device that is constructed using a semiconductor material composed of a...
Saha equation
Formula that describes the thermal equilibrium of gas electrons and ions as a direct function of variations in temperature.
custom lapping and polishing services
Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional...
optical parametric oscillator
A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates...
double vision
A defect of a binocular instrument causing two images to be seen separately instead of being fused. It is caused when the...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
gallium nitride
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material...
noise equivalent delta temperature
In a thermal imaging system, the change in temperature that yields a signal-to-noise ratio of unity.
calorimetry
Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It...
label-free
Label-free refers to a technique or method that does not require the use of additional labels, tags, or markers to detect or...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
correlated color temperature
Temperature of the blackbody having chromaticity nearest to that of the test source on a specified chromaticity diagram.
high-speed motion camera
A high-speed motion camera, also known as a high-speed camera or slow-motion camera, is a specialized imaging device...
Golay cell
A thermal radiation detector consisting of a small cell with a blackened plastic front face that bulges slightly when heat...
mid-wave infrared
MWIR stands for mid-wave infrared, referring to a specific range of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. Infrared...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...
slab laser
Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called...
cryogenics
The science and technology applied to the creation of low temperatures (i.e., approaching absolute zero).
thermal dissociation
A technique for detecting free radicals by their electronic spectra. The material to be studied is placed in a...
retroreflection
Retroreflection is a phenomenon in optics where light is reflected back toward its source, typically in a direction nearly...
fiber fuse
A phenomenon in which high optical power, encountering an imperfection in an optical fiber, destroys the fiber's core and...
cesium-antimonide photocathode
A photocathode that exhibits maximum sensitivity in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. The sensitivity is...
cryostat
A device used to maintain near-absolute temperatures for experimental procedures.
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...
digital signal processing
Digital signal processing (DSP) refers to the manipulation and analysis of signals, which are representations of physical...
telemeter
1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain,...
emissivity correction matrix
A computer-generated routine for achieving true-temperature readings in thermal infrared imaging systems.
detector-Dewar assembly
A detector-Dewar assembly typically refers to a combination of a detector and a Dewar flask used in scientific instruments,...
siemens
The electric conductance of a conductor in which a current of 1 ampere is produced by an electric potential difference of 1...
gradient-index profile
The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In...
fluorescence decay system
A device, also called a fluorescence lifetime instrument, that measures decay curves of fluorescing samples. It generally...
transducer
A transducer is a device or component that converts one form of energy into another. It is commonly used in various fields,...
ohm
The electrical resistance between two points of a conductor when a constant difference of potential of one volt, applied...
solar laser
A laser pumped by solar radiation focused by mirrors.
evaporagraph
A sensor generally used for infrared imaging. It consists of two chambers separated by a thin, blackened membrane. An...
crystal oven
A temperature-controlled container used to stabilize the temperature and resonant frequency of a crystal found in a...
solar constant of radiation
Solar radiation intensity existing in free space at the mean solar distance of the Earth. Commonly expressed in g cal...
Babinet compensator
A device containing two opposed quartz wedges of equal angle, one wedge being movable along its length by a micrometer...
infrared detector
An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible...
split Stirling cooler
A cooling system used to attain and maintain desired low temperatures in infrared systems. The Stirling type is a mechanical...
microreciprocal degree
An approximated measure of the smallest change in color temperature detectable by the human eye, defined as the reciprocal...
optically compensating zoom system
A variable focal length lens system that retains the object in focus as one or more lenses move as a unit along its optical...
heat equation
A calorimetric calculation from which the temperature vs. time dependence of any point on a sample can be determined,...
hard elastics
High-modulus elastic fibers that exhibit the following differences from conventional elastic fibers: Increasing temperature...
exciton
An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...
flux growth
A method of synthesis for crystals such as KTP. The process involves the use of a high-temperature solution called flux to...
synchrotron
A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or...
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a laboratory technique used to detect and measure the presence of specific...
incomplete radiator
A thermal source that emits less radiation than a blackbody under identical temperature conditions.
Casimir force
The Casimir force is a quantum phenomenon that results in an attractive force between two closely spaced uncharged...
Lummer-Brodhun cube
A photometric instrument having two prisms clamped in optical contact to produce a photometric field with an acute dividing...
computer numerically controlled grinding
Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision...
dye laser
A laser using a dye solution as its active medium. Its output is a short pulse of broad spectral content and its achievable...
electrowetting display
An electrowetting display (EWD) is a type of electronic display technology that utilizes the principles of electrowetting to...
prism
A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...
laser dazzle system
Visible laser radiation, often optically expanded and collimated, used to induced temporary blindness from within a walking...
Seidel aberrations
Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...
color temperature
A colorimetric concept related to the apparent visual color of a source (not its temperature). For a blackbody, the color...
Babinet-Jamin compensator
A Babinet compensator that contains the controlled motion of one prism with respect to the other. This idea was introduced...
striae
An imperfection in optical glass consisting of a distinct streak of transparent material having a slightly different...
transverse mode
In the context of optics and lasers, a transverse mode refers to a specific spatial pattern of the electric field within the...
nonradiative transition
A nonradiative transition refers to a process in which an electron or an atom undergoes a change in its energy state without...
erbium-doped fiber amplifier
An optical fiber that can be used to amplify an optical input. Erbium rare earth ions are added to the fiber core material...
infrared camera
An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the...
cold shield
That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a...
riflescope
A small erect-image telescope for use as a sighting device on a rifle. The chief requirement is a long eye relief to avoid...
line spectrum
A spectrum formed by radiation whose energy values of the property being measured cluster about at least one discrete value,...
phase screen
A phase screen, in the context of optics and wave optics, refers to a surface or medium that introduces a phase delay to an...
burst mode laser
A high-frequency pulse-rate laser with an output limited by the heat capacity of the laser medium. Instead of having...
amplitude-modulated sensor
A type of fiber optic sensor that detects alteration in position, distance, pressure, liquid level or temperature by...
superconductor
A metal, alloy or compound that loses its electrical resistance at temperatures below a certain transition temperature...
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA...
gamma correction
Modification of a system to provide for a linear transfer characteristic from an input to an output device. A circuit for...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
environmental range
The maximum to minimum range of temperature, pressure, humidity, vibration and biological conditions under which an optical...
low-temperature spectroscopy
The analysis of structural and molecular dynamics caused by low temperature.
achromatic point
Location on the CIE chromaticity diagram which produces the color white for a given light source at a specified temperature.
absolute temperature scale
The measurement of heat energy as determined from absolute zero as the zero point on the scale. Increments are identical to...
holographic grating
A holographic grating is a type of diffraction grating that is produced using holographic recording techniques. It consists...
chemical vapor deposition equipment
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor...
horizontal temperature gradients
Horizontal concentrations that comprise the dominant factor in atmospheric gradient correction. The range bias near due...
infrared lens
An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating...
globar
A light source made up of silicon carbide or carborundum. It is resistant to the negative temperature coefficient and...
sum of slopes
Heat loss determined by the sum of rising and falling slopes at a constant temperature.
thermophotovoltaic
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) refers to a technology that converts heat energy into electricity using the principles of...
terahertz spectrometer
A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...
laser cooling
A process and method by which manipulation and orientation of a given number of directed laser beams decreases the motion of...
inverse bremsstrahlung
Collisional absorption of energy that occurs in inertial confinement fusion systems when hydrodynamic expansion of the...
self-phase modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...
sky noise
Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.
optical pyrometry
The determination of the temperature of a source by the detection of its incandescent brightness.
Biberman factor
Mathematical compensation for the nonhydrogenic behavior of recombination radiation levels of gases, based on the quantum...
thermomagnetic imaging
The production of an image on a magnetic film that is exposed to infrared radiation and heated to a point above Curie...
thermogram
Also known as analog thermogram. The resultant photograph, illustrating, in tones ranging from black to white, the spatial...
backlight compensation
The ability of a camera to compensate in cases where a subject with a large amount of background light would otherwise be...
inverse problem
Any problem that requires retrieval of the distribution of some internal properties, such as temperature concentration,...
henry
The inductance of a closed circuit in which an electromotive force of one volt is produced when the electric current in the...
orthonormalization
Optimization method used in optical design computer programs that employs a variable-by-variable approach to construct new...
recombinase polymerase amplification
Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a molecular biology technique used to rapidly amplify specific DNA or RNA...
phase-modulated sensor
A phase-modulated sensor is a type of sensor that uses modulation of the phase of a signal to measure changes in a physical...
thermocouple
A device composed of dissimilar metals that, when welded together, develop a small voltage dependent upon the relative...
ruby laser
The optically pumped, solid-state laser that uses sapphire as the host lattice and chromium as the active ion. The emission...
nonlinear optical materials
Nonlinear optical materials are substances that exhibit optical properties that are not linearly proportional to the...
solid-state laser
A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent...
cold atom
Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to...
inertial fusion energy
Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...
crystallized glass
Glass of special composition that is melted, formed into desired shapes, and subjected to a high-temperature treatment in...
thermography
Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera,...
sapphire
Sapphire refers to a crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that is used in various optical and photonic applications...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
thermionic emission
The emission of free electrons by a rise in temperature of the cathode alone.
gray body
A temperature radiator whose spectral emissivity at all wavelengths is in constant ratio (less than unity) to that of a...
radiation temperature
The temperature of a complete radiator that has a total radiant emittance identical to that of an unknown resource.
flow chemistry
Flow chemistry, also known as continuous-flow chemistry, is a chemical manufacturing process where reactions take place in a...
distribution temperature
Temperature of the blackbody having a spectral power distribution approximately proportional to the test source at all...
channel impedance
The parallel resistance and capacitance appearing between the active guard ring junctions in a silicon photodiode.
soleil compensator
An optical compensator similar to the Babinet compensator, but which produces a phase-change consistent throughout its...
sapphire window
A sapphire window refers to a transparent optical component made from sapphire crystal. Sapphire is a single-crystal form of...
discrete cosine transform
A mathematical transformation used in image and video compression that changes two-dimensional representation of data into...
diamond turning
Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...
microbubble resonator
A microbubble resonator is a device used in photonics and optical physics for the precise manipulation of light waves. It...
outside vapor-phase oxidation
A process for the production of optical fibers. A glass bait is rotated in a traversing flame of a reaction burner....
Planck's (radiation) law
The formula describing the spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody as a function of its temperature and the...
kinetic cooling
An atmospheric nonlinear process unique to CO2 laser wavelengths, whereby CO2 absorbs 10.6-µm radiation and the CO2...
GaN distributed feedback lasers
GaN (gallium nitride) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers refer to a specific type of semiconductor laser based on Gallium...
spectrometric oil analysis
An analytical technique used to determine, identify and localize impending malfunctions. It is based upon quantitative and...
symmetrical lens
A lens system made up of two sets of similar lenses, each of which compensates for many of the aberrations produced by the...
fire cracks
Small clefts or fissures that penetrate the glass surface in the form of short-hooked crescents. Fire cracks result from a...
color thermogram
A thermogram in which temperature values are displayed in discrete thermal bands, each band possessing a distinct color.
feedback compensation
The placement of a device or an additional circuit into a feedback control system to improve its response in relation to a...
mask proximity correction
A technique used in photolithography of computer chips to compensate for errors caused by the proximity effect, which...
cosine collector
Translucent collector developed to compensate for the partial blocking of a flat surface's collection angle that normally...
spectral repeatability
Spectral repeatability refers to the consistency and reproducibility of spectral measurements across multiple trials or...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all...
electron multiplication charge-coupled device camera
An EMCCD (electron-multiplying charge-coupled device) camera is a type of scientific camera specifically designed for...
heat-resistant glass
Glass that has been specially treated so that it will not shatter when exposed to high temperatures followed by immediate...
diode-pumped solid-state laser
A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...
arc flash
An arc flash is a sudden release of electrical energy due to an electric arc — a continuous, high-current discharge of...
candela
SI unit of luminous intensity. It is defined as one sixtieth the normal intensity of one square centimeter of a blackbody at...
transmitter central wavelength range
The central wavelength range of a transmitter based on the worst-case scenarios of temperature, manufacturing and other...
crystal filter
A bandpass filter with piezoelectric crystal components for the passage or impedance of electrical signals of various...
phonon
A phonon is a quantum of vibrational energy associated with the periodic motion of atoms or molecules in a crystalline...
epitaxial equipment
Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...
ultraviolet microscopy
The study and photographing of microscope specimens in ultraviolet light; using an optical microscope containing fluorite...
photon drag effect
The induction of an electric field in a semiconductor by an incident laser beam. The technique has rapid response time at...
inertial confinement fusion
Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a method of achieving nuclear fusion, a process where two atomic nuclei combine to...
poling
The process of aligning the crystallites in a piezoelectric material by placing a large DC field across the element at an...
Peltier cooler
A Peltier cooler, also known as a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) or thermoelectric module, is a solid-state device that uses...
ambient temperature
The prevailing temperature in the immediate vicinity of the object; the temperature of its environment.
silver-disc pyrheliometer
An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are...
remote sensing
Remote sensing is a method of data collection and observation where information about objects, areas, or phenomena on...
piezoelectric motion systems
Piezoelectric motion systems are mechanical systems that utilize piezoelectric materials to generate controlled motion or...
heat treating
The process of subjecting glass to temperature cycling to produce physico-chemical reactions that alter its properties....
compacting
The heat-treating method in which the index of refraction of glass is fixed near or at its maximum value by holding the...
spin-flip Raman laser
A semiconductor laser that operates in the infrared and that is pumped with strong pulses of radiation from a second laser....
dewetting
Dewetting is a phenomenon in materials science and physics where a thin film or coating spontaneously undergoes a process of...
coefficient of thermal expansion
A numerical representation of the rate at which a material will exhibit dimensional changes as a direct result of changes in...
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In...
axial gradient technology
A method of designing lasers whereby the laser rod is cut into elliptical discs and cooled by running water over the disc...
interferometric calorimetry
Heat measurement method in which the sample is made part of the interferometer and the temperature increase is determined by...
infrared
Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but...
silicon carbide light-emitting diodes
Silicon carbide (SiC) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is...
phosphor thermometry
A method for remote measurement of the temperature of moving surfaces in harsh environments by using a laser to stimulate...
laser crystal
A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of...
laser rangefinder
A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It...
differential mode delay
A variation in propagation delay caused by differences in group velocity among modes of an optical fiber. Also called...
optical cement
A permanent, transparent, and highly transmissive adhesive capable of withstanding extreme temperatures that is applied to...
internet of things
The internet of things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other objects...
flame excitation
The use of high temperatures, between 2000 and 3000 °C, to excite emission lines from a sample in spectroscopic...
isotemperature line
Brillouin scattering
Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with...
light fidelity
LiFi, short for light fidelity, is a wireless communication technology that utilizes visible light or infrared light to...
microenvironmental control system
Equipment that supports microscopic live-cell imaging by managing the gas, media perfusion, temperature and other factors to...
fusion ignition
Fusion ignition refers to the point in a controlled nuclear fusion reaction where the energy released by the fusion...
infrared thermal detector
Used to detect radiation from the infrared region. The functional process includes absorption of infrared radiation, which...
Laurent polarimeter
A Laurent polarimeter is an instrument used in optics for measuring the rotation of plane-polarized light caused by...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective...
long-wave infrared
Long-wave infrared (LWIR) refers to a specific range of the infrared spectrum. Infrared radiation is divided into three main...
atom optics
The area of optics in which the wave nature of a particle is exploited to carry out very accurate interferometry and other...
cryospectroscopy
The spectrographic analysis of matter that is in a cooled state. Generally, a mechanical refrigerator is used to lower the...
compensated reflector
A corner reflector that provides an increase in the range of angles over which it may be used.
photothermal effect
The cause of some forms of laser injury in which tissue absorbs incident laser light and experiences a damaging rise in...
chelate laser
A laser having a rare-earth chelate within a plastic host as the lasing material. The chelate laser is easily pumped and has...
thermosetting cement
An adhesive that permanently sets or hardens at a specified high temperature. Methacrylate is an example of a thermosetting...
thermistor
A solid-state semiconducting structure (basically one of the bolometers) that changes electrical resistance with...
relative equilibrium
The steady state of temperature exhibited by a material that has absorbed and emitted radiation equally.
crimp sleeve
A crimped metal cylinder that holds the connector to the cable through the cable's strength member.
Dewar vessel
An evacuated, double-walled container for storing liquids at low temperatures. Often made of glass, the vessel resembles a...
thermoplastic cement
An adhesive whose viscosity decreases as the temperature is increased to a limit. Canada balsam, resin and pitch are...
phase conjugation
The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols,...
chip-on-board lights
Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a...
mirror blank
A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly...
turbulence propagation medium
Simulation of atmospheric turbulence for laboratory experimentation purposes, achieved by creating an unstable vertical...
blackbody locus
With respect to a chromaticity diagram, this is the locus of points that represent the chromaticities of blackbodies...
color conversion filter
A filter that serves to alter the color temperature and the mired value of the radiation emitted by a source.
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, or quartz iodine lamp, is an incandescent lamp that uses a...
lens testing equipment
Lens testing equipment refers to a range of specialized tools and instruments used to evaluate the optical performance,...
coulomb
The quantity (C) of electricity transported in one second by a current of one ampere.
vertical external cavity surface-emitting laser
A laser that has a surface-emitting semiconductor gain element coupled to an external mirror designed to complete the laser...
optical time-domain reflectometer
An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is a specialized instrument used in optical fiber communications to characterize...
pistoning
Motion of a fiber into and out of the ferrule. This effect is often caused by changes in temperature.
fluorescence lifetime imaging
Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is an advanced imaging technique that provides information about the lifetime of...
compensating wedge
 machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated...
BCS theory
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, based on the notion that electrons with opposite momentum and spin...
flashlamp-pumped dye laser
A pulsed dye laser in which the excitation is provided by means of a flashlamp. Output is tunable from 335 to 850 nm, with...
damped least squares
An organizational method used in optical design computer programs. The technique produces one number (merit function) to...
opaque
A term describing a substance that is impervious to light; the characteristic of a substance that has no luminous...
kelvin
The SI unit of temperature equal to 1°C. See absolute temperature scale.
nitrogen vacancy
A nitrogen vacancy (NV) refers to a specific type of defect or impurity in a crystal lattice where a nitrogen atom replaces...
monocoil sheathing
A type of tubing used to protect optical fiber cables, consisting of a wire spiral of aluminum, galvanized steel or...
laser drift
Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...
nonthermal radiation
The radiation emitted from a group of charged particles that does not depend on the temperature of the source in which those...
ferroelectric materials
Ferroelectric materials are a type of dielectric materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization, meaning they...
creep
The deformation of a material at high levels of stress, often associated with elevated temperatures.
melting point
The temperature at which the solid phase of a material is in equilibrium with the liquid phase, or when the material changes...
full wave compensator
A piece of uniform birefringent material placed at a 45° angle to the plane of polarization in a polarizing microscope...
chirped-pulse amplification
Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies...
Gaussian optics
1. That branch of optics that illustrates the theory in which q is substituted for sin q in Snell's law. Effective results...
glass laser
An optically pumped solid-state laser in which the active medium is a neodymium ion in a glass rod host. Abbreviated...
soft coating
A term describing an antireflection coating that may be applied to optics that cannot tolerate the high temperatures usually...
color temperature meter
A device containing two photocells behind deep red and blue filters to measure color temperatures. The amplifier gain is...
lens blank
A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which...
color center laser
Certain color centers in the alkali halides have been optically pumped to produce efficient tunable pulsed and...
thin-film deposition equipment
Thin-film deposition equipment refers to machinery and tools used in the process of depositing thin layers of material onto...
Seebeck effect
Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct...
thermal-infrared camera
A thermal-infrared camera, often referred to simply as a thermal camera, is a type of imaging device that detects infrared...
phosphorography
A process used in pyrometry and photothermometry to create a photographic record of a surface's temperature gradients....
compensating eyepiece
A microscope eyepiece designed for use with apochromatic objectives. Since apochromatic objectives are undercorrected for...
fiber optic preform
A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It...
burn
A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and may appear...
compensating glass
Also known as clear glass or clear filter. The clear glass plate is used to simulate a filter, in converging or diverging...
compensator
An optical element that measures the phase difference between two components of elliptically polarized light to correct for...
tempered glass
A glass that is heated, then chilled (usually by an air blast) to set up internal stresses so that the surfaces are under...
emissivity
The ratio of an object's radiance to that emitted by a blackbody radiator at the same temperature and at the same wavelength.
coolant
A fluid used to decrease the temperature rise produced by friction or other causes.
optically pumped laser
A laser in which stimulated emission is triggered by the absorption by electrons of light from an auxiliary source such as a...
elastomer
Any material of a macromolecular nature that can stretch at room temperature to more than twice its length and return to...
diode laser
A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light....
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...
pulse forming network
A series of capacitors and inductors connected to the flashlamp in a pumped Nd:YAG laser system in order to regulate the...
pressurization
Injecting a gas (usually nitrogen) with a very low moisture content into the body of an optical instrument to create a...
compensating filter
A filter used in photography to change the spectral composition of light entering a camera, or to adjust color balance...
conversion efficiency
In a pumped laser system, the ratio of output energy to pump energy.
carbonization
Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the...
magneto-optic storage
A specific type of storage in which the material to be written on is heated above its transition temperature and switched in...
Senarmont compensator
A type of compensator for use with a microscope and consisting of a quarter-wave plate in a fixed position and a rotatable...
bracketing
In photography, the technique of taking multiple pictures of the same subject at different exposures to compensate for...
colorimeter
A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides...
Bridgman technique
Crystal growth method that resembles static freeze, but that induces growth by removing the ampoule from the furnace so that...
emissive power
The emissivity of a body times the emissive power of a blackbody at the same temperature. For a blackbody, it is the total...
incandescence
The emission of light by thermal radiation of a temperature high enough to render the source of radiation visible.
electron temperature
Approximation of a system of thermal equilibrium formed by the distribution of the kinetic energies of electrons in a gas...
heliostat
A device having a plane mirror so mounted that it can be set to reflect sunlight into a piece of laboratory equipment. It is...
sapphire optical fiber
Sapphire optical fiber is a type of optical fiber made from single-crystal sapphire, which is a form of aluminum oxide...
photoelectric pyrometer
An instrument used to measure the temperature of a source through the use of photoelectric cells to detect and measure the...
thematic mapper
An instrument used to record infrared images of large areas. The recorded data are used to produce maps in false color...
impedance
Qualitatively, the inverse of the amount of velocity produced by the application of a sinusoidal force to a system;...
optical pyrometer
An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives...
Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms at temperatures close to absolute zero. It is named after...
germanium crystal
Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor...
vapor degreasing
A method of cleaning and drying coated optical components. The cooled parts are placed in a container above a boiling...
mirage
The distortion of an object's true image as the result of abnormal atmospheric disturbances along the path traveled by the...
solar furnace
An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and...
spectral flow cytometry
Spectral flow cytometry is an advanced flow cytometry technique that expands the capabilities of traditional flow cytometry...
imagery rectification
Photogrammetric compensation for incidental camera movement (which prevents attainment of true vertical photographs) whereby...
phase-change optical disc
An erasable data recording and storage medium that uses a laser to heat the crystalline surface of the disc to a certain...
negative temperature
fixed-pattern noise
Fixed-pattern noise is the measure of the static (nontemporal) differences between pixels when the detector is evenly...
temperature decay method
threshold current
The minimum driving current corresponding to lasing threshold at a specified temperature. (Ith).
nominal ocular hazard distance
The calculated normal distance from a photon source at which harmful interaction with the incident light will occur....
quantum well
A quantum well is a structure in quantum mechanics that confines particles, such as electrons or holes, in one spatial...
extrinsic properties
The properties exhibited by a semiconductor as the result of its modification by imperfections and impurities in the crystal.
glass
A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or...
modified chemical vapor deposition
Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form...
phase distrortion
Phase distortion refers to a change in the phase relationships between different frequency components of a signal. In the...
image transducer
Any arrangement of a bundle of optical fibers that alters the shape of the image. For example, by systematic regulation of...
fluorescence
Fluorescence is a type of luminescence, which is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other...
liquid crystal
Liquid crystals are a state of matter that exhibits properties intermediate between those of conventional liquids and solid...
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
nonselective radiator
Also known as a gray body; a nonselective radiator is a thermal radiator that has a constant spectral emissivity with...
Arrhenius plot
The plot that expresses a reaction rate vs. the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Often used to describe the thermal...
GaN-based LEDs
Gallium nitride-based light-emitting diodes (GaN-based LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric...
Fizeau fringes
Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...
stabilized light source
A light source that does not fluctuate despite temperature changes.
fiber optic sensor
A fiber optic sensor is a device that uses optical fibers to detect and measure physical, chemical, biological, or...
oriented lenticular screen
A lenticular screen having the lenticules tipped about 20° to compensate for off-normal projection.
cold finger
A cryogenically cooled component incorporated into the Dewar of an infrared detector assembly to maintain the sensing...
laser diode module
A laser diode module is a compact device that incorporates a laser diode, optics, and often other components into a single...
shock wave
Interruption in the normal flow of a plasma or fluid characterized by sharp rises in velocity, temperature and pressure. As...
videography
Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images and recording them in a digital format. It involves the use of...
radiation pyrometer
Also known as radiation thermometer. A pyrometer in which the radiant intensity from the source to be measured is used to...
projection thermography
The measurement of surface temperature by a thermograph that forms a pattern of the heat radiated by the surface on a...
transient calorimetric technique
A method of measuring total hemispherical emissivity of the plane surface of a solid that consists of thermally isolating a...
atmospheric refraction correlation
Formulaic compensation to correct laser ranging data for the effects of horizontal refractivity gradients; it requires the...
fused quartz and silica
Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are...
thermal interface materials
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are substances or compounds used to enhance the thermal conductivity between two surfaces...
correction window
An optical wedge of very small angles that admits light while sealing out moisture and dirt and that may be rotated to...
face-pumped laser
A device in which slab geometry internally compensates for thermal-optic distortion; the solid host material -- glass or...
Curie temperature
The temperature above which a ferromagnetic material becomes only paramagnetic.
antiferromagnetism
The elimination of magnetic moments and decrease in magnetic susceptibility with a decrease in temperature due to the equal...
mode sweeping
A form of laser output noise that is caused by thermal, mechanical, or acoustical disturbances of the cavity length. Mode...
nominal hazard zone
Zone of laser operation in which the direct, reflected or scattered light exceeds the laser's MPE and (by ANSI standards)...
differential interferometer
A device that produces an interferogram that can be directly related to the temperature gradient and thereby provides a...
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic...
microscope eyepiece
An eyepiece located at the near end of the microscope tube. It often is a simple Huygens eyepiece, but compensating and...
bandgap
In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....
gain-switching
Gain-switching is a technique used in lasers to generate short pulses of light by modulating the gain of the laser medium....
bolometer
A thermometric instrument used for the detection and measurement of radiant energy. Its essential component is a short...
dropping
The process whereby a blank or disc is heated to a sufficiently high temperature to sag into a mold having a desired...
single-molecule spectroscopy
An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation....
CCD camera
A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and...
polysulfone resin
A thermoplastic, self-extinguishing polymer with excellent high-temperature, low-creep and arc resistance properties.
closed-loop adaptive single parameter
A closed-loop system that compensates for thermal blooming by optimizing only one parameter: the amplitude of the phase...
glass annealing furnace
A furnace, generally electrically heated, with a control system capable of following a cam by which the temperature can be...
Stirling engine
An engine in which work is performed by the expansion of a gas at high temperature; heat for the expansion is supplied...
cold coating
A method of applying antireflection coatings to optics that avoids the elevated temperatures normally used. A cold coating...
photolithography
Photolithography is a key process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and...
mean solar time
One of two types of solar time - the other being apparent solar time - the mean solar time is the time measured by the...
Angstrom compensation pyrheliometer
A system used for measuring direct solar radiation.
injection seeding
The use of a small ultrastable master oscillator (a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser) to achieve single-frequency operation of a...
Pechan prism
A prism made up of two air-spaced components. It has the ability to revert, and not invert, an image, and can be used in...
aptamer
An aptamer is a short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule that can bind to a specific target molecule with high affinity...
fusing
The permanent uniting of two glass pieces by high-temperature heating.
emission spectrum
An emission spectrum is a graphical representation or a characteristic pattern of the wavelengths or frequencies of light...
pyroelectric infrared detector
Unlike the thermocouple or bolometer, the pyroelectric infrared detector is a current source with an output proportional to...
cooled infrared detector
An infrared detector that achieves a specified sensitivity through the application of certain cryogenic temperatures.
Nernst glower
A Nernst glower, also known simply as a Nernst lamp or Nernst filament, is a type of incandescent lamp or radiant heater...
population inversion
The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated...
minimum resolvable temperature
In a thermal imaging system, the smallest change in blackbody equivalent temperature that can be detected clearly by the...
active optics
Technology that corrects the shape of reflective optics; primarily applied in large telescope systems, in order to...

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