150 terms
Photonics Dictionary: M
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magneto-opticsMagneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic radiation). This field of physics explores how the properties of light, such...
massive opticsOptical components exceeding 24 in. in diameter. The components are usually glass, acrylic or polystyrene and are used for virtual image systems in simulators and collimators.
Matrix opticsThe linear relationship between input and output optical fields for a given optical system or application that allows the use of a matrix and matrix algebra to define an optical system, or series of...
matrix opticsmeta-opticsMeta-optics, also known as metasurface optics or flat optics, is a branch of optics that involves the design, fabrication, and utilization of artificial structures called metasurfaces to control and...
meteorological optics -> atmospheric opticsThe analysis of the properties of radiation, such as light, when acted upon by variations in the atmosphere. Blue and red skies, along with ice halos, glories, coronas and rainbows can all be...
micro-opticsMicro-optics refers to the design, fabrication, and application of optical components and systems at a microscale level. These components are miniaturized optical elements that manipulate light at a...
Mmega;magnification -SI metric unit prefix which represents one million, 106, also the standard symbol for the magnification of a given optical system.
Mach-Zehnder interferometerA Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...
machine vision lensA machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....
machine vision systemA machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...
macrobend lossIn an optical waveguide, that loss attributable to macrobending. Macrobending usually causes little or no radiative loss.
macrobendingIn optical fiber, bends that are larger than microbends (see microbending), being visible. Generally they are caused by bending the cable beyond the specified bend radius. Light escaping at the bends...
magnetic bubble filmAn amorphous film in which cylindrical bubbles of reverse magnetization can be formed to follow circuit paths usually made by depositing magnetic metal strips on the film surface. It is used in...
magnetic enhancementPlasma-enriched deposition or planar magnetic sputtering that offers increased deposition rates in optical thin-film production. This technology surpasses conventional and RF sputtering.
magneto-optic parameterA complicated constant linked with the electron theory of the Faraday and Kerr effect. It demonstrates a specific value for each metal.
magneto-optic readout deviceA device using the Kerr effect to read back the signals from mechanically recorded tapes and discs. It consists of a light source, optical lenses to focus and direct the light beam, a pair of...
magneto-optic shutterA type of high-speed photographic shutter that uses Faraday rotation to produce exposure times as fast as 1 microsecond. It consists of two polarizers, set with their planes of polarization at right...
magneto-optic storageA specific type of storage in which the material to be written on is heated above its transition temperature and switched in a biased field. Reading of the material is determined by the magneto-optic...
magneto-optical photonic crystalA photonic crystal that comprises magneto-optical material such that the optical response of the device depends on the magnetization of the magneto-optical material. The magneto-optical effect can be...
magnetorheological finishingMagnetorheological 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...
magnificationThe ratio of the size of the image of an object to that of the object. The ratio of the linear size of the image to that of the object is lateral magnification. Angular magnification is the ratio of...
magnifying powerThe ability of an optical system to make an object appear larger. An optical element or optical system causing an object to appear twice as high and twice as wide is said to have a magnification of...
magnitudeIn astronomy, the relative brightness of a celestial body. Originally a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 represented the brightest and 6 the faintest visible night sky objects. This scale has been expanded...
mandrelA shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its machining process or its practical use. In fiber optics, optical fibers are...
mandrel wrap testA means of testing optical fiber for macrobending losses by wrapping the fiber once at very low tension around a mandrel, and then measuring attenuation vs. wavelength.
marcuse loss theoryA theoretical analysis of radiation loss from planar optical waveguides due to scattering by surface irregularities/surface roughness of the walls of the waveguide.
marhic methodNondestructive measurement of the delta and alpha of clad optical fibers that involves interferometry with the fiber immersed in an index-matching oil and illuminated perpendicular to the fiber axis.
Martens wedgeA wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane polarized light. A Martens wedge can also be used in combination with other...
masks for evaporation/depositionIn the context of thin film deposition processes such as evaporation or sputtering, masks are used to selectively deposit material onto substrates, creating patterns or structures with precise...
mass relievingThe removal of material from an optical system to decrease the weight and sometimes the bulk of the system. See coring; egg-crating.
mass spectroscopeAn instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to sort out the relative masses of atoms and molecules.The same way an optical spectroscope uses a prism to separate light into its various wavelengths,...
material dispersionThe dispersion attributable to the wavelength dependence of the refractive index of the material used in any optical application.
material scatteringThe total scattering attributable to the intrinsic properties of the materials through which an optical wave is propagating.
matrix unitAn electrical or optical device used to convert color coordinates.
Mc/smegacycles per second — Megacyces per second is an oscillation rate equivalent to one million (or 106) of the standard unit of a single optical period over a second which is an optical cycle.
MCMmodulation contrast microscopy; multichip module — modulation contrast microscopy is a unique illumination technique that enhances contrast in an imaging microscope by converting optical gradients into variations in light intensity. Modulation contrast microscopy is found most commonly in live cell imaging, polarization microscopy, phase contrast, and oblique illumination of stained, unstained and birefringent specimens. A multichip module is an electronic packaging system where multiple discrete electronic components (integrated circuits, semiconductor diodes, etc.) are packaged in various ways onto a single substrate.
MCTmercury cadmium telluride — Mercury cadmium teluride (HgCdTe) is a specific alloy combination that allows one to obtain any optical absorption bandgap of the material between 0 and 1.5 electron volts (eV) making it completely transparent at photon energies and wavelengths below the energy gap in the infrared.
MDMmetal-dielectric multilayer (MDM) — Periodic nanofilm structures for optical mode confinement and tunneling of resonant surface plasmons.
measuring wedgeA wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...
MELmany-element laser; maximum excess loss (MEL) — the many element laser is a laser unit that consists of N like elements of active materials for support with the mode selection of the laser output. The mode selection properties of a many element laser have been experimentally exploited with as many as 10 like elements.
Maximum excess loss is the maximum power lost within a give system (typically a fiber optic communication system) including scattering, dispersion, absorption and coupling loss.
MEMS -> microelectromechanical systemsRefers to micron-size complex machines that have physical dimensions suitable for the fabrication of optical switches for use in state-of-the-art communications networks.
MEMS fiber optic switchA MEMS fiber optic switch is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device designed to selectively route optical signals between multiple fiber optic channels. These switches utilize miniature...
mercury arcAn electric arc that is formed in mercury vapor through which an electric current flows. The intensity of the illumination of the arc depends mostly on its design and the conditions under which it...
meridional planeThat plane in an optical system containing its optical axis and the chief ray. Also called the tangential plane.
meridional rayA ray that lies in the meridional plane; a ray that lies in the plane that contains the optical axis. A tangential ray.
merit function -> error functionA single number, defined by the computer program or the user that expresses the performance of an optical system. Also known as merit function and defect function, the error function comprises...
meso formA form of an element that cannot demonstrate optical activity as a result of dextrogyrate and levogyrate effects that are balanced contrary to each other in a structure. In essence, meso form...
mesoscopeIn the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture images at intermediate scales, falling between microscopic and macroscopic...
metal componentAn accurate metal prism or plane parallel plate that is cemented to an optical element and remains with it during a series of grinding or polishing processes. The metal element contains threaded...
Photonics DictionaryM