Photonics Dictionary

A prism or series of prisms used to disperse a beam of radiant energy of mixed wavelengths into its spectral components.

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

A spectroscope having a divided circle and a means for the rapid reversal of prisms for the measurement of refractive index of the prism for a specific wavelength.

A prism block that, when used with a lens, is capable of forming two images of one object.

A form of prism invented by H.W. Dove. It resembles half of a common right-angle prism in which a ray entering parallel to the hypotenuse face is reflected internally at that face and emerges...

The flat or angled surface, usually fine-ground, that limits the aperture of a lens or prism surface.

A refracting telescope that uses a prism to bend the line of sight 90°.

The effect whereby a light beam is deflected by a birefringent prism when its polarization is changed by voltage applied to an electro-optical crystal through which the beam passes. The deflection of...

A spectrometer equipped with polarizing prisms and retardation plates that is used in the analysis of elliptically polarized light, mostly in the study of thin, evaporated films.

The entrance slit, also known simply as the slit, is an essential component in optical instruments such as spectrometers and monochromators. It is a narrow opening or aperture through which light...

When a block of glass (prism, window, filter, etc.) is placed into a converging light bundle, it increases the physical distance to the point of focus. The equivalent air path for that block of glass...

An eyepiece combined with an erecting prism or lens system.

Lenses or prisms that serve to erect the image; i.e., to bring the image upright after it has been inverted by the objective.

Also known as ocular. The lens system used between the final real image in a visual optical system and eye. It acts as an image magnifier. Many types of eyepieces are known; e.g., the Huygens used in...

A means of determining a prism's index of refraction by placing the prism so that its emergent face is perpendicular to the incident beam. This arrangement permits the determination of the prism's...

A prism with curved faces that collimates, reflects and refracts incident light. Often used in the production of spectrographs.

A fiber optic spectrometer is a device used for measuring the spectral content of light. It utilizes optical fibers to transmit light from a source to a spectrometer unit, where the light is...

A polarizing prism formed from calcite that is like the Nicol prism but has the two parts divided by a thin air-film and cut to such angles that the extraordinary beam will be transmitted and the...

Fused quartz and silica are closely related materials, both composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO2), but they are produced through different manufacturing processes and have distinct properties...

Germanium crystal refers to a crystalline form of the element germanium (Ge), which is a metalloid and semiconductor commonly used in various electronic and optical applications. Germanium crystals...

A type of birefringent polarizing prism that transmits the extraordinary ray and removes the ordinary ray through total internal reflection. It consists of two calcite prisms with an air gap...

A prism resembling a Nicol prism but having faces normal to the axis and the two parts divided by a glycerine film. Also known as Glan prism.

A spectrometer or autocollimator used to measure prism angles.

A specific, right-angle prism having a transmission grating replicated on its hypotenuse face and used in applications requiring a system that can produce in-line viewing for one wavelength.

A form of a stereoscopic microscope having paired objectives, prisms and eyepieces, and invented by H. Greenough.

Machinery used to grind and finish a component, such as a lens or prism, to a desired precision. Usually such machines carry a cup-shaped or flat tool (lap) into close contact with the part. An...

A direct-vision prism made in one piece that can be used only in parallel light.

A component used to modify light rays by diffraction; the HOE is produced by recording the interference pattern of two laser beams and can be used in place of lenses or prisms where diffraction...

A hyperspectral imaging camera is a sophisticated imaging device capable of capturing and processing data across a wide range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, typically from...

An eyepiece having a special prism arrangement linked to a micrometer screw to allow reading of the angular relations between the two prism segments to be varied. When the prism faces are parallel,...

Any arrangement of a bundle of optical fibers that alters the shape of the image. For example, by systematic regulation of the spacing of the fibers from the entrance end to the exit end, a...

A direct method of measuring refractive index that works best with flat-surfaced samples (i.e., those that are not dependent on special prism shapes) and produces data that are uniquely sensitive to...

Infrared optics refer to optical components and systems designed to manipulate and control infrared (IR) light, which lies beyond the visible spectrum. These components are crucial for various...

A spectrophotometer having a prism or, more frequently, a grating for the study and recording of infrared spectra. It usually consists of a radiation source such as a Nernst glower, a monochromator,...

A laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized gas. The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube,...

A prism produced by severing a Nicol prism and reconstructing the polarization angles of the two halves so that they are slightly wedged toward each other.

A cell filled with a transparent material that, when placed in a strong electrical field, exhibits double refraction. Since the two polarized elements of an incident light beam travel at different...

A visual, single-unit spectrophotometer with a biprism and a Wollaston prism. The Wollaston prism polarizes coincident images of the two halves of the entrance aperture.

A dark band that may appear in the field of crossed Nicol prisms with a powerful source such as the sun because the light is not strictly parallel and is not extinguished immediately.

Laser optics refers to a broad category of optical components and systems designed for manipulating and controlling laser light. Laser optics play a crucial role in shaping the characteristics of...

An erecting prism that inverts and reverses the image. It displaces the optical axis but does not deviate it.

The process whereby white light is separated into its component wavelengths. Light beams of different wavelengths are separated from each other by undergoing a different angular deviation. Prisms and...

Linear optics refers to the study and manipulation of light in a linear and deterministic manner, where the response of optical elements is proportional to the amplitude of the incident light wave....

A small half-shade analyzer placed in the eyepiece of a polarimeter to determine the character of the polarized light emitted by the instrument. It consists of a Nicol prism situated so that it...

A 30-60-90° spectrograph prism that is coated on the surface opposite the 60° angle with a reflecting film.

A spectrograph using a prism that has an internally reflecting surface and that serves as a constant deviation prism.

A photometric instrument having two prisms clamped in optical contact to produce a photometric field with an acute dividing line.

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...