A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator configuration used in laser systems. The term confocal in this context refers to the fact that the foci of the cavity's mirrors...

A high-resolution spectroscopic device commonly used in the early 20th century as a component of double-beam...

A technique for measuring the concentration of any gases. Identical infrared beams are alternately chopped, one passing...

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

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

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

A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference...

A two- or three-dimensional space grating formed when ultrasonic beams with varied paths of propagation intersect.

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

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

1. An optical distance finder that depends on triangulation of two convergent beams on an object from disparate view points....

A device used in electron microscopes and particle accelerators to focus electron beams by the arrangement of four...

A technique used to generate a phase shift between reference and sample light beams. The phase shift can be performed...

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

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

A thin layer of metal deposited on the surface of a substrate. The film may serve as a reflector, beamsplitter, neutral...

Holographic recording whereby the object is illuminated by two pulses, separated by a time interval, from a Q-switched laser...

A microscope to which a beamsplitter and illuminated reticle have been added to measure the radius of curvature of a...

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

A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser...

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

Any type of interference produced by a beamsplitter.

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

A polarizing prism consisting of two calcite prisms cemented such that they deviate the two emerging beams (which are...

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

Color resulting from the interference between two light beams.

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...

The series of processes used to identify and evaluate crystal structure by using crystalline solids to diffract x-rays. In...

An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an...

A cathode-ray tube that either splits an electron beam from one source or uses beams from two sources to produce two beams,...

A glass block that produces stationary fringes in the region crossed by incident light beams.

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

Left- and right-hand circularly polarized beams that are produced at different velocities by passing plane-polarized light...

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

Fluence is a term used in various scientific and technical disciplines to describe the amount of something per unit area....

A technique whereby two laser beams, one at an excitation wavelength and the second at a wavelength that produces Stokes...

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

A beamsplitting mirror that reflects as a function of wavelength.

A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...

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

A laser having a Q-switching method that allows separate parallel volumes of the lasing material to act independently of...

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

The use of a reflective device, which can be fashioned from a variety of materials including gases, solids, dyes, aerosols,...

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

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

An accelerator at the Argonne National Laboratory, providing powerful x-ray beams for materials research applications.

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

Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) is an optical microscopy technique that belongs to the category of quantitative...

A technique based on the principles of laser trapping and used to manipulate the position of small particles by gradually...

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

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

A transmission interference microscope that produces interference patterns of a sample by using birefringent plates that...

1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications...

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

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

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

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

A thin, stretched plastic membrane cemented to a rigid supporting ring. It may be coated to act as a beamsplitter, for...

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

A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) is a type of gyroscope that uses laser light to detect and measure changes in orientation. It...

A semitransparent mirror in an optical system that combines two or more output beams into a single coaxial beam.

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

An interference pattern that is recorded on a high-resolution plate, the two interfering beams formed by a coherent beam...

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

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

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

Counter propagating beams imaged along the same path in order to detect rotation. Precise rotation is measured through...

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

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical...

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

Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings,...

An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...

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

An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device that utilizes the interaction between sound waves and light waves to modulate...

Present in photocurrent burst, it is the low frequency pulse that corresponds to the light scattered from the beams in the...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...

A microscope to which a beamsplitter and illuminated reticle have been added that is used to measure contact lenses.

An astronomical body that emits radiation concentrated by a strong magnetic field into two beams that rotate, giving a...

An optical element having two principal axes, slow and fast, that resolve an incident polarized beam into two mutually...

The phase change of one of the two split beams of an interference microscope.

The study of the diffraction of beams of a wave by matter to ascertain the structure of the matter.

A technique used in integrated optics where a groove is cut on a substrate surface and covered by a thin film to facilitate...

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

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

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

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

A hologram produced by a pair of radiation beams, each carrying information.

The series of rings or bands formed when light beams reflected from two polished, adjacent surfaces, placed together with a...

A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are...

A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential...

The photographic recording of a subject that exhibits luminescence only for an extremely short time (10-8 s) after the...

An arranged series of coils, magnets or electromagnets disposed in such a way that the resulting magnetic fields generate a...

Loss mechanisms that degrade the performance of all thin-film optical devices by removing radiant flux out of the specular...

The area of optics that deals with the propagation of Gaussian laser beams in free space, or any general medium - i.e....

In holography, the beam of light that is directed from the beamsplitter to the recording medium, where it interferes with...

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

E.I. duPont's trade name for a polyester film. The most practical beamsplitter for use beyond the 15-µm wavelength...

Directed energy refers to a type of energy that is emitted and transferred in a controlled direction. The term is often...

Charged frozen pellets that are rapidly bombarded with a focused high-power laser to form a dense plasma that can be heated...

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

A series of permanent holograms in dichromated gelatin formed by opening total page-composer apertures and setting a point...

A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...

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

The storage of data as bits in memory by holographic processes. The laser beam is divided into reference and object beams,...

A microscope in which laser light is delivered through single-mode fibers that replace the pinhole usually used in confocal...

Medical lasers are devices that produce intense beams of light with specific characteristics and properties, which are used...

1. The direct storage of data as bits in memory using optical systems and properties. The memory makes use of a laser beam...

A five-sided prism containing two reflecting surfaces at 45° to each other, and two refracting faces perpendicular to...

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

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

Combining light beams, usually of unlike frequencies, to form a single beam with a frequency that is equal to the frequency...

A device that uses four electrodes set in an alternating positive-negative polarity series to focus the beams of charged...

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

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

A refractometer that has a greater resolving power than a standard refractometer, and that uses a pentagonal prism to split...

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

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

A Risley prism, also known as a Risley prism pair or Risley rotating prism, is an optical device used for controlling the...

A class of optical phenomena that can be viewed only with nearly monochromatic, directional beams of light, such as those...

The superimposing of holographic pages in a thick, erasable storage material by changing the reference and object beams....

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

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

A diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is a type of laser system that uses semiconductor diode lasers to pump energy into...

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

The method by which Thomas Young in 1802 disproved Newton's corpuscular theory of light by the formation of interference...

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

Irregularities and disturbances in the atmosphere that are of particular interest because they induce random temporal and...

A power intensity pattern produced by the mutual interference of partially coherent beams that are subject to minute...

A process and method by which manipulation and orientation of a given number of directed laser beams decreases the motion of...

A glass rhomb that is used in photometry to compare two illuminated surfaces. This is accomplished by the rhomb's angles,...

The photographic record of the diffracted beams formed when heterogeneous x-rays emerging from a pinhole or slit impinge...

One or more optical elements – typically cemented together - in an optical system that are treated as a single group;...

The study of the generation of electromagnetic power by radiation from high-energy beams.

A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since...

A device designed to detect microwave modulation and to mix modulated and unmodulated laser beams. It consists of a...

STED microscopy, or stimulated emission depletion microscopy, is a superresolution imaging technique in fluorescence...

A technique for producing micron-size structures on surfaces by using short-wavelength light or electron beams.

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

An electron-beam tube with power-handling capability that is essentially based on controlled electron beams. Its control and...

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...

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

A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the...

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

The recorded interference pattern formed by the interference of two sound beams.

In photonics, a lattice refers to a periodic arrangement of optical elements or structures, often on a microscopic or...

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

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture...

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from...

Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...

Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the...