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Optimax Systems, Inc. - Optical Components & Systems 2024 LB
optical systems Dictionary Terms

diffuser
An optical diffuser is an optical component or material designed to scatter or diffuse light that passes through it. It is used to create a more even or uniform illumination, reduce glare, or soften the appearance of harsh, direct light. Optical...
molecular motor
A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can...
optical constructor
A system of modular mechanical components for building precision optical systems. The basic equipment includes a variety of...
optical coatings
Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms,...
optical memory
1. The direct storage of data as bits in memory using optical systems and properties. The memory makes use of a laser beam...
pyramid error
Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors....
radial distortion
An alteration in magnification from the center of the field to any point in the field, measured in a radial direction from...
linear optics
Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of...
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a...
spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface...
stroboscopic interferometry
A pulsed interferometer that permits the continuous quantitative mapping of the surface deformation of an adaptive optical...
joint transform correlator
A device consisting of two optical systems in which two signals are simultaneously transformed to produce their spectra, and...
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light...
self-phase modulation
Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical phenomenon that occurs when an intense laser beam passes through a...
optical camouflage
The use of retroreflective projection technology (RPT) to project a background image onto a masked object, such as a vehicle...
Dammann grating
A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced,...
optical design and engineering services
Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and...
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...
cylindrical lens
A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape...
computer-calculated diffraction pattern
The use of computer analysis in the calculation of diffraction patterns for information on the design of optical systems. In...
optical Fourier transform
The optical Fourier transform is a mathematical operation applied to optical signals that involves transforming a spatial...
nonlinear optics
Nonlinear optics is a branch of optics that studies the optical phenomena that occur when intense light interacts with a...
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...
lens
A lens is a transparent optical device that focuses or diverges light, allowing it to pass through and form an image. Lenses...
optical gate
An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through...
etaloning
Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers,...
Kerr soliton
A Kerr soliton refers to a specific type of soliton, a self-reinforcing wave packet, that arises in nonlinear optical...
optical assembly
An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a...
dispersion
Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing...
concave
Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In...
corner cube
A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light...
liquid crystal light valve
A liquid crystal light valve (LCLV), also known as a spatial light modulator (SLM), is an optical device that modulates the...
Geometrical optics
The area of optics in which the propagation of light is described by geometrical lines (or rays) governed by Fermat's...
adaptive optics
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effects of...
optical phase distortion
Optical phase distortion refers to a phenomenon where the phase of an optical wavefront is altered as it propagates through...
dichroic mirror
A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that...
optical glass
Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems,...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces...
broadband dielectric mirrors
Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or...
Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor
The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system....
aplanatic points
Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or...
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly...
Kerr effect
The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where...
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the...
optical filter
An optical filter is a device that selectively transmits or blocks specific wavelengths, or colors, of light. Optical...
molded lens
A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such...
periscope
An optical instrument designed to displace the line of sight in a vertical direction. For submarines and other military uses...
long-pass filter
A long-pass filter is an optical filter that allows longer wavelengths of light to pass through while blocking or...
optical noise
Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or...
multiconfiguration mode
Used in computer design for optical systems with common parts and different applications.
photoconductor contact
Material used to integrate photoconductors into electro-optical systems. It should provide low resistance to the flow of...
aspheric mirror
An aspheric mirror is an optical mirror surface that deviates from the shape of a perfect sphere, having a non-spherical...
micro-optics
Micro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level....
metasurfaces
Metasurfaces are two-dimensional arrays of subwavelength-scale artificial structures, often referred to as meta-atoms or...
microdisplay
A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small...
diamond-turned optic
Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and...
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a...
aplanatic surface
An aplanatic surface is an optical surface that is specifically designed or shaped to minimize spherical aberration and...
mirror mount
A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are...
fiber-coupled LED
A fiber-coupled LED (light-emitting diode) refers to an LED device that is optically coupled to an optical fiber for the...
freeform optics
Freeform optics refers to the design and fabrication of optical surfaces that do not follow traditional symmetric shapes,...
beam shaper
A beam shaper is an optical device or system designed to modify the spatial profile or intensity distribution of a laser or...
coincidence rangefinder
An optical instrument used to determine the distance to a target being viewed. Two similar optical systems view the target...
meta-optics
Meta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication,...
optical testing instrument
An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and...
dispersion-limited operation
Operation in which the dispersion of a pulse limits the distance between repeaters in optical systems. Waveguide and...
blaze height
Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of...
optical cements and adhesive
Optical cements and adhesives are specialized materials used in the assembly and bonding of optical components in optical...
optical design software
Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to...
image jump
In optics, the term image jump refers to a displacement or shift in the apparent position of an image when a change occurs...
grating beamsplitter
A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into...
lateral shearing interferometer
A lateral shearing interferometer is an optical device used in interferometry to measure phase differences between two beams...
freeform mirrors
Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric...
achromat
An achromat, in the context of optics, refers to a type of lens or lens system designed to reduce chromatic aberration....
optical combiner
An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines...
Seidel aberrations
Seidel aberrations refer to a set of monochromatic aberrations in optical systems, named after the German mathematician and...
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...
collimation
1. The process of aligning the optical axes of optical systems to the reference mechanical axes or surfaces of an...
modulation transfer function analysis/measurement equipment
MTF analysis/measurement equipment refers to instruments and tools used to measure and analyze the modulation transfer...
spatial light modulator
A spatial light modulator (SLM) is an optical device that modulates or manipulates the amplitude, phase, or polarization of...
GRIN lens
A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather...
optical materials
Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the...
aspheric lens
An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical...
angular spectrum approach
The angular spectrum approach is a mathematical and computational technique used in the field of optics to analyze and...
infrared optic
Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies...

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