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Rocky Mountain Instruments - Infrared Optics LB
optical components Dictionary Terms

soft mold blocking
Blocking by means of a pitch ring, pitch button or a totally pitched block. Pitch, containing a soft filter, may be used...
optical table
An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics...
laser drift
Laser drift typically refers to a phenomenon where the frequency or wavelength of a laser source gradually changes over...
prelasing
When uncontrolled laser energy leaks from a laser cavity prematurely, it causes serious damage to optical components and...
germanate glass
A type of glass used in near-infrared optical components, in which germanium is used as a cation instead of silicon.
photonic integrated circuit
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a compact and integrated device that incorporates multiple photonic components and...
scattered light filter
A specific type of filter designed to reduce the amount of light scattered by reflections from the edges of optical...
phase contrast microscopy
Phase contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that enhances the contrast of transparent and colorless...
microring resonator
A microring resonator is a compact optical device that utilizes the resonant behavior of light within a small ring-shaped...
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
sol-gel
A gelatinous fluid that can be used as a porous thin-film coating for optical components, including laser beam collimators,...
light-beating spectroscopy
The spectroscopic analysis of optical line shapes and frequency shifts, using the technique of light beating; i.e., the...
azimuthal polarization
Azimuthal polarization refers to a specific polarization state of light where the electric field vector of the...
laser oscillator
Contains the light or beam path within a laser device. The oscillator uses reflective optical components that are oriented...
whispering gallery mode
Whispering gallery mode (WGM) refers to a phenomenon in wave physics, particularly in optics, where waves, such as light or...
planform bonding
A manufacturing process used to construct substrates for large optical components. Used with IR materials, planform bonding...
lateral shearing interferometer
A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...
optical switching
Optical switching refers to the process of controlling the routing or transmission of optical signals within a network using...
paraffin oil
A saturated compound of carbon and hydrogen used as a liquid coating material for optical components in high-power laser...
diamondlike carbon film
A very hard, highly transparent coating based on forms of carbon, used to protect optical components from abrasion and...
nanophotonics
Nanophotonics is a branch of science and technology that explores the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, typically at...
lens mount
The metal tube that maintains the optical components of a lens in proper relationship. Some lenses are mounted in metal...
photonic crystals
Photonic crystals are artificial structures or materials designed to manipulate and control the flow of light in a manner...
massive optics
Optical components exceeding 24 in. in diameter. The components are usually glass, acrylic or polystyrene and are used for...
laser damage threshold
The laser damage threshold refers to the maximum level of laser intensity that a material can withstand without experiencing...
multi-axis alignment
Multi-axis alignment refers to the process of aligning or adjusting components or systems in multiple spatial dimensions or...
isolator
In the context of electronics and optics, an isolator refers to a device that allows the transmission of signals in one...
linear receive optics
Linear receive optics typically refers to the optical components and systems used in the reception (detection) of linearly...
liquid coating
A self-healing, index-matching, nonporous coating for optical components that can eliminate production difficulties and...
cyanocrylate cement
Adhering material used to glue optical components that transmit in the infrared. It is easily dissolved by acetone.
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
replicated optics
Optical components, usually reflectors, produced using proprietary techniques that transfer the precision of a master to a...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The...
vapor degreasing
A method of cleaning and drying coated optical components. The cooled parts are placed in a container above a boiling...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
compression molding
A method of producing large volumes of plastic optical components in which powdered or sheet plastic is pressed between...
nanopositioning
Nanopositioning refers to the precise and controlled movement or manipulation of objects or components at the nanometer...
diamond turning
Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce...
integrated photonics
Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers,...
polystyrene
A plastic used in molded optical components. Styrene elements can be combined with acrylic elements to produce achromatic...
optical testing
Refers to a variety of methods and tools used to determine the surface contour and performance of optical components and...
mounting cement
An adhesive used to hold optical components in their mounts. It may be a thermoplastic or chemical-hardening substance.
etaloning
Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...
polarization dependent loss
In passive optical components, loss that varies as the polarization state of the propagating wave changes. Expressed as the...
photoelectric mixing
Also known as light beating. The mixing of two narrowband optical components to produce an AC component in the photocurrent...
Fizeau interferometer
A type of interferometer noted for producing narrow multiple-beam interference fringes. As a result, when compared with the...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of...
integrated optics
A thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free...
optical noise
Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...
styrene acrylonitrile
A copolymer of styrene and acrylic used in molded optical components; it has a high refractive index and a low coefficient...
beam matrix
1. A geometrical arrangement of two or more light beams for use in laser shows, object detection or other applications...
blocking shaper
A convex, concave or flat cast iron form that is used to shape a soft mold block of optical components.
optical Fourier transform
The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...
beam expander
A system of optical components designed to increase the diameter of a radiation beam. Usually an afocal system.
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...

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