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16 terms
Photonics Dictionary: A
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light source x
A x
arc light source
In present usage, especially for spectroscopic identification, an arc between electrodes that serves as a radiation source. Gas tubes that contain mercury vapor and mixtures of helium, neon and argon...
Abbe illumination
Image of a uniform source through the sample of a microscope image system. Light from the sample plane is reimaged by the objective into the image plane.
achromatic point
Location on the CIE chromaticity diagram which produces the color white for a given light source at a specified temperature.
acousto-optic deflector
A system designed with a laser as a light source and a means for producing sound waves extending beyond 100 MHz to deflect light efficiently.
aeolight
A glow discharge lamp consisting of a cold cathode and a mixture of inert gases. The intensity of illumination varies with the applied signal voltage. This lamp was commonly used as a source of...
agri-photonics
Agri-photonics refers to the application of photonics technologies in agriculture. Photonics involves the generation, manipulation, and detection of light and other forms of radiant energy whose...
alphanumeric reader
An instrument that reads alphabetic, numerical and special characters by means of a photosensor that measures the varying intensity of the characters reflected from a light source.
ambient light
Light present in the environment around a detecting or interpreting device, especially a machine vision system, and generated from outside sources. Such light must be treated as noise by the vision...
anisophotic source
A light source that emits an uneven distribution of radiant energy through the visible range.
Arago spot
A bright spot or point, due to Fresnel diffraction, that appears at the center of the shadow of a circular object in light originating from a point source. Also referred to as a Fresnel spot or...
artificial star
A point source of light used for the test and evaluation of image quality. May be a backlit pinhole in an otherwise opaque sheet placed at an appropriately large distance from the lens being tested.
astigmatizer
A cylindrical lens that may be rotated to distort a bundle of light originating at a point source, to form a line image.
atomic absorption spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) is an analytical instrument used to determine the concentration of specific chemical elements in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at...
attosecond photonics sources
Attosecond photonics sources refer to devices or systems that generate extremely short pulses of light on the order of attoseconds (1 attosecond = 10-18 seconds). These ultrafast light pulses are in...
autocollimator
An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...
autofocus system
A means of adjusting the sharpness of an image automatically, with a sensor for estimating distance or contrast and a drive mechanism to adjust the lens. Active systems generate a light source to...
Photonics Dictionary
A
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