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mirrors Dictionary Terms

prism
A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent...
Geometrical optics
The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's...
reflecting objective
An image-forming system that uses mirrors rather than lenses. Such objectives are frequently used for astronomical...
catadioptric imaging system
A system that uses both reflection and refraction to achieve its focal power. While the relative powers of the lenses and...
reflecting spectrograph
A solar spectrograph that uses long focus concave mirrors as its collimator and camera element.
entrance slit
The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and...
resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance, which is a phenomenon that occurs when an external force or...
optical switching
Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...
stable resonator
A laser resonator in which a mode oscillating between the mirrors will converge upon the laser's longitudinal axis.
face-pumped laser
A device in which slab geometry internally compensates for thermal-optic distortion; the solid host material -- glass or...
dichroic mirror
A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
plastic optics
Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to...
Nichols radiometer
An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small...
concave
Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication,...
solar laser
A laser pumped by solar radiation focused by mirrors.
coudé
A set of mirrors along a telescope's polar axis designed to redirect light to a fixed position without being affected by the...
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
sun-tracking concentrator
Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the...
Murty interferometer
A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path...
FTIR spectrometer
FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometer is a powerful analytical instrument used to obtain an infrared spectrum of...
catoptric system
An optical system in which the only image-forming elements are curved-surface mirrors; e.g., a Cassegrain lens system.
thin-film coating
Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
confocal spherical interferometer
An interferometer formed by two similar concave spherical mirrors arranged with the center of one sphere on the other...
camera lucida
A portable instrument that uses a four-sided reflecting prism or set of mirrors to create a duplicate image of an object on...
Fabry-Perot laser
A laser oscillator in which two mirrors are separated by an amplifying medium with an inverted population, making a...
polygonal mirror
A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various...
mirror lens
An image-forming system having curved mirrors in place of transparent glass components. Mirror lenses are commonly used for...
endoscope
An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or...
concave and convex spherical mirror
Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
terahertz spectrometer
A terahertz spectrometer is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyze the properties of materials in the terahertz...
sextant
A handheld navigational instrument used to measure the elevation angle of celestial bodies such as the sun. An image of the...
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter...
convex
Convex is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves outward, bulges, or has a rounded and outwardly...
Q-switched pulse
A laser output that occurs when the cavity resonator Q is first kept very low, using rotating mirrors or saturable...
MEMS fiber optic switch
A MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals...
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...
microfilm camera
A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed...
dual laser
A gas laser equipped with Brewster windows and concave mirrors (having unlike reflective properties) at each end of the tube...
laser
A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and...
vertical-cavity laser diode
A type of surface-emitting laser diode that uses dielectric mirrors to produce surface emission. The laser cavity is...
laser cavity
A laser cavity, also known as an optical cavity or resonator, is a fundamental component of a laser system. It is a confined...
optical coherence tomography imaging system
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain...
curvature
The measure of departure from a flat surface, as applied to lenses; the reciprocal of radius. Applies to any surface,...
telescope
An afocal optical device made up of lenses or mirrors, usually with a magnification greater than unity, that renders distant...
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...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...
liquid crystal on silicon
Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) is a display technology that combines liquid crystal materials with silicon-based...
confocal resonator
A confocal resonator, also known as a confocal cavity or confocal laser resonator, is a type of optical resonator...
beam shuttle
A set of mirrors mounted on solenoids to move them into and out of the path of a laser beam, making it possible for multiple...
motion controller
In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such...
laser optics
Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser...
broadband dielectric mirrors
Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...
dichroic coating
A dichroic coating, also known as a dichroic filter or dichroic mirror, is an optical coating designed to selectively...
Fresnel mirrors
Two plane mirrors that are not wholly located in the same plane. When light from a point source or slit reflects from the...
retroreflector
A retroreflector is an optical device or structure that reflects incident light or electromagnetic waves back to their...
holographic camera
A holographic camera, also known as a holographic imaging system or holographic recorder, is a specialized device used to...
extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum....
pyramid error
Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors....
paraboloidal mirror
A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a...
reflecting prism
A prism having several plane polished surfaces, some to transmit light, some to reflect light, and some to serve both...
thin film
A thin layer of a substance deposited on an insulating base in a vacuum by a microelectronic process. Thin films are most...
digital twin
A digital twin refers to a virtual representation or digital counterpart of a physical object, system, or process. This...
optical system
A group of lenses, or any combination of lenses, mirrors and prisms, so constructed as to refract or reflect light to...
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
helium-neon laser
A helium-neon (HeNe) laser is a type of gas laser that emits visible red light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. It operates...
Fizeau fringes
Fizeau fringes are interference fringes observed in an interferometer, specifically in a Fizeau interferometer. The Fizeau...
Czerny-Turner design
A form of monochromator optical system consisting of two spherical concave mirrors used in conjunction with a movable...
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...
laser head
Contains elements which produce lasing., e.g. gain medium, oscillator mirrors as well as housing.
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
optical autocorrelator
An instrument used to test lenses by utilizing the optical transfer function. It consists of a HeNe laser, a beamsplitter...
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...
aspheric mirror
An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...
telescope lens
A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is...
spectrograph
An optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a...
laser output
The laser output refers to the generated and emitted light produced by a laser system. This output is characterized by...
fiber laser
A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as...
optical bistability
The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will...
freeform mirrors
Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...
astronomical telescope
An astronomical telescope is a type of optical instrument designed to gather and magnify light from distant celestial...
Nd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain...
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
ringdown testing
A test method for determining high-reflectivity levels by monitoring cavity decay within a resonant cavity formed by two...
astronomical mirror
An astronomical mirror, also known as a telescope mirror or primary mirror, is a key component of a reflecting telescope. It...
custom optic
A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or...
optical caliper
A device for measuring linear dimensions. The optical caliper generally consists of two circularly mounted mirrors whose...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...
ring dye laser
A laser using a dye solution as the active medium whose resonator is formed into a ring (or a triangle or another shape) by...
Fourier transform spectrometer
An instrument using a Michelson interferometer, a beamsplitter, two plane mirrors and a detector to give Fourier analysis of...
plasmon ion-assisted deposition
Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...
cavity
In a laser, the optical resonator formed by two coaxial mirrors, one totally and one partially reflective, positioned so...
laser pattern generation
Production of a repeated image of a transmitted beam through a diffractive optical element such as a holographic card or...
galvo-directing mirrors
A system of mirrors that can be used to direct light from a single laser source into any one of a number of separate optical...
diamond turning
Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...
mirror mount
A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are...
glass-ceramic
A type of glass used in telescope mirrors, formed by adding a nucleating agent to standard glass and then heating it until...
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...
laser damage threshold
The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...
Seidel aberrations
Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...
coincidence rangefinder
An optical instrument used to determine the distance to a target being viewed. Two similar optical systems view the target...
optical gate
An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...
Ronchi test
More efficient than the Foucault knife-edge test, this test examines curved mirrors by using a transmission grating with 40...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
front-surface mirror
An optical reflector with the reflective coating applied to the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates the ghost...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
galvanometric scanner
A galvanometric scanner, also known as a galvanometer scanner or galvo scanner, is a type of optical scanning device used to...
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...

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