Photonics Dictionary

A microlens array is a grid-like structure composed of numerous small lenses, typically arranged in a regular pattern. Each individual lens in the array is referred to as a microlens. These...

A technique for producing micron-size structures on surfaces by using short-wavelength light or electron beams.

Output noise in a laser beam resulting from acoustic disturbances of mirror separation or orientation. Such disturbances may come either from the plasma or from vibration of external sources.

An instrument that produces an intense, tightly focused beam of ions to stimulate emissions from a minute section of a sample undergoing spectroscopic analysis. The ion beams found in microprobes are...

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microscopes are instruments that magnify and...

A device designed to detect microwave modulation and to mix modulated and unmodulated laser beams. It consists of a photosensitive cathode and a microwave-electron-tube structure that amplifies,...

The Mills Cross telescope is a two dimensional radio telescope in which the two antenna arrays are positioned perpendicular to each other to form the shape of a cross. Each antenna consists of...

The smallest linear diameter to which a laser or other beam of radiant energy is capable of being focused, depending on the quality of the focusing optics, aperture and focal length, beam irradiance...

A mirror mount is a mechanical device used to secure and precisely position mirrors in optical systems. Mirrors are essential components in optical setups for reflecting light or redirecting laser...

Combining light beams, usually of unlike frequencies, to form a single beam with a frequency that is equal to the frequency sum or difference of the original beams. The resultant 'beat' frequency is...

Mode hopping in the context of lasers refers to a phenomenon where a laser system abruptly switches from one longitudinal mode to another. In a laser, different longitudinal modes represent distinct...

A method used to detect internal or residual microstresses in a material by using a laser beam to locate changes in polarization caused by the stress.

A zone plate produced by a computer and having a binary structure that can be etched into a chromium or quartz layer. It often is used in laser machining, in which the machining of small holes with...

A nonlinear crystal used to modulate a polarized beam of light by means of the Pockels effect. A Pockels cell is used as a voltage-controlled waveplate by means of applying a known voltage across the...

A character generation CRT that functions on the principle of secondary emission. The target holds a set of aluminum characters, select characters being scanned by the electron beam. The secondary...

In optics, a motion controller refers to a device or system that precisely controls the movement of optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, stages, or other elements within an optical setup. The...

A hologram formed by reconstruction of multicolor wavefronts. The system used to produce the hologram is designed to combine the different colored wavefronts of the separate illuminating sources, and...

A form of shearing interferometer that contains a simple wedged (plane-parallel) glass plate with a nonzero optical path difference to create interference between split optical wavefronts. The...

A function that quantifies the performance degradation of coherent communications systems, imaging systems and all systems that rely on the spot size of a laser beam that has propagated along an...

E.I. duPont's trade name for a polyester film. The most practical beamsplitter for use beyond the 15-µm wavelength because of its high efficiency. It exhibits high visible transmission, allowing...

Nd:YAG laser refers to a solid-state laser that utilizes neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12) as the gain medium. This type of laser emits light at a wavelength of 1064 nm in the...

In a laser diode, lateral motion of the beam center at the facet when the drive current is changed.

A strip or annulus of glass coated with a semitransparent material such as inconel. The coating thickness, and as a result its transmission, varies linearly as a function of distance. The neutral...

The series of rings or bands formed when light beams reflected from two polished, adjacent surfaces, placed together with a thin film of air between them, interfere. By counting these bands from the...

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small silvered, glass mirrors that are suspended, in the way of a torsion balance, by a...

A nonlinear crystal is a type of crystal that exhibits nonlinear optical properties when subjected to intense electromagnetic fields, typically from laser light. Unlike linear optical materials,...

A type of radiation detector designed to recognize nonlinear optical effects, such as the Raman effect, by means of a directional, nearly monochromatic light beam; e.g., a laser beam.

A class of optical phenomena that can be viewed only with nearly monochromatic, directional beams of light, such as those produced by a laser. Harmonic generation and the stimulated Raman effect are...

The coupling of laser or light beams via nonlinear optical techniques such as four-wave mixing to achieve spatial variation of the electrical field of the target beam. This technique is also referred...

Commonly performed in spectroscopy, the optical null process is a method for radiation detection whereby physical detectors are used to rapidly interchange the intensity between a reference beam and...

An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an electronics unit, that automatically acquires and tracks particular eye...

Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly in applications requiring precise focusing, collimation, or imaging of...

An optical assembly refers to a collection of optical components that are carefully arranged and aligned to perform a specific function within an optical system. These components may include lenses,...

An instrument used to test lenses by utilizing the optical transfer function. It consists of a HeNe laser, a beamsplitter and two mirrors.

The phenomenon that can render an optical resonator the equivalent of a semiconductor flip-flop. A bistable device will remain stable in two optical states, one of high transmission and another of...

A mechanical or electrical-electromagnetic device for periodically interrupting or blocking abeam of light for a brief known interval. The three most common chopper types include the tuning fork...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique used in medical diagnostics and biomedical research to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. An OCT imaging...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in medical and scientific fields to capture high-resolution, cross-sectional images of biological tissues. It provides...

An optical combiner, in the context of optics and display technologies, refers to a device or component that combines multiple optical signals or images into a single output. The purpose of an...

One or more optical elements – typically cemented together - in an optical system that are treated as a single group; e.g., a beamsplitter, or a cemented doublet or triplet.

A rigid medium, generally a polycarbonate substrate coated with a reflective aluminum layer, that stores information (such as audio, video or data) as digital bits in the form of variations in the...

A device for measuring diffraction grating efficiency at any angle of incidence, consisting of a reflectometer wherein the detector rotates around the grating at a specific distance and is attached...

A periodic structure formed by intersecting or superimposed laser beams. These beams can trap atoms in low-potential regions, forming a pattern of atoms resembling the structure of a crystal.

A device used to detect and measure small amounts of rotation. The rotating object contains a reflecting surface from which a beam of light is reflected onto a positional detector. A large distance...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....