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8,289 terms

Photonics Dictionary

1. A generic term for detector. 2. A complete optical/mechanical/electronic system that contains some form of radiation detector.

sequential color transmission

With respect to television, the transmission of the signals that originate from variously colored parts of an image in a particular sequential order.

serial transmission

A mode of data transmission whereby each bit is generated in sequence on a single carrier.

Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical device used for measuring the wavefront aberrations of an optical system. It is widely used in adaptive optics systems to correct distortions and...

short-focus lens -> wide-angle lens

A wide-angle lens is a type of camera lens that has a shorter focal length than a standard or normal lens, allowing it to capture a broader field of view. Wide-angle lenses are characterized by their...

siemens

The electric conductance of a conductor in which a current of 1 ampere is produced by an electric potential difference of 1 volt.

sign conventions

A convention that defines specific dimensions of an optical system, such as the image distance or radius of curvature of a lens or mirror, as negative or positive to facilitate calculations based on...

sine wave response -> modulation transfer function

Also called sine wave response and contrast transfer function. The modulation transfer function is the ratio of the modulation in the image to the modulation in the object as a function of frequency...

single instruction/multiple data

A computer architecture used in parallel processing whereby the processing elements are directed by a single, central control unit; generally used for large numbers of relatively simple processing...

singlet lens

A singlet lens is an optical lens made from a single piece of material, typically glass or plastic, with one or both surfaces being spherical or aspherical. It is the most basic type of lens used in...

slide projection lens

A lens designed for projection of color transparencies.

soft-focus lens

A lens that exhibits spherical aberration when used at large aperture settings, and that forms an image with a slightly blurred outline.

solar constant of radiation

Solar radiation intensity existing in free space at the mean solar distance of the Earth. Commonly expressed in g cal cm-2min-1, the constant is equal to the amount of incident radiation -- in unit...

soleil compensator

An optical compensator similar to the Babinet compensator, but which produces a phase-change consistent throughout its field, as opposed to the Babinet's phase-change, which occurs progressively...

Sonnar lens

A photographic objective that uses the thick meniscus principle to obtain its power. It is designed to photograph small fields at large apertures.

sonosensitive plate

Device that uses a coherent reference wave to record the interference patterns produced by incident ultrasonic waves on an object.

spatial intensity perturbation

A beam instability, induced by index of refraction inhomogeneities and component damage of dirt and dust particles, that exhibits exponential growth and causes both system degradation and energy loss...

spectral integral density

With respect to color photography, the measurement, at a given wavelength, of the way the color film modulates the radiant flux in the optical system containing the film.

spectral response

Measure of a detector's signal during exposure to radiation of a constant power level and varying wavelength.

spectrosensitometer

A sensitometer having a continuously controlled monochromator to measure spectral sensitivity and contrast of photographic materials.

spectrum measuring instrument

A traveling microscope or an automatic microdensitometer used to measure the spectrum plate obtained in a spectrograph.

specular transmission

See regular transmittance; the term specular is not properly applied to transmission.

spheric lens

A spheric lens, also known as a spherical lens, is a type of optical lens with at least one surface that is part of a sphere. This means that the lens surface is curved in a symmetrical manner,...

spherical microintegrated lens

A tiny lens (as small as 100 µm in diameter) used to focus light on charge-coupled devices, formed by heating a photosensitive material exposed through a mask, leaving a pattern of raised...

split lens

A close-up lens, semicircular in shape, that is mounted in front of a conventional lens focused at infinity. The result is an image made up of two sections; one focused through the split lens on near...

split lens interference

The interference of the two real images formed by a Billet split lens.

split-crown triplet lens

A lens derived from the Cooke triplet anastigmat, but with one of the crown elements split in two, resulting in improved speed and correction of aberrations.

spontaneous transition probability

The probability that an atom in one state will move spontaneously to a lower state within a given unit of time.

SQW-GRINSCH

single-quantum-well, graded index separate confinement heterostructure

standard lens

A lens whose focal length is roughly equal to the diagonal of the negative format of the camera on which it is mounted.

staring sensor array -> mosaic detector array

A group of photosensors arranged in a grid-like pattern covering the entire field of view, enabling them to record it all at once (as a camera records an image on film) rather than by scanning parts...

step response

The observed time dependence of the transmittance of a step of radiation through a given medium.

stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy

Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) is a superresolution microscopy technique that enables imaging of biological specimens at resolutions beyond the diffraction limit of conventional...

substage condenser

In a microscope, the optical assembly that focuses light on the specimen and into the objective.

superluminal transmission

Superluminal transmission refers to the hypothetical process of transmitting information faster than the speed of light, which is commonly denoted as superluminal or faster-than-light (FTL)...

supplementary lens

A meniscus that is often fitted before a camera lens to permit focusing on near objects.

surveying instruments

Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the level, the stadia telescope, the transit and the theodolite. Laser...

symmetrical lens

A lens system made up of two sets of similar lenses, each of which compensates for many of the aberrations produced by the other. The lens sets are arranged symmetrically on either side of the...

synchronous transmission

A mode of transmission whereby the sending and receiving stations operate continuously at a fixed relationship of phase and frequency, generating signals to control the timing of the data that are to...

tapered transmission line -> tapered waveguide

A waveguide having a characteristic that is altered continuously with the distance traveled, relative to the axis of its path.

telecentric lens

There are three types of telecentric lenses: -Image-space telecentric lenses are those in which the aperture stop is located at the front focus, resulting in the chief rays being parallel to the...

telephoto lens

A compound lens so constructed that its overall length is equal to or less than its effective focal length.

telescope lens

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is typically a curved, transparent piece of glass or other optical material...

television transmitter

An electronic device used to encode video and audio signals of a television camera into radio waves that are broadcast to remote receivers. The video and audio components are transmitted...

temperature-sensitive coating

A coating having pigments that change color when exposed to heat. This effect has been widely used to monitor hot spots in mechanical parts.

temporal response

Characteristic of deflected light power defined as the quadratic invariant function of the video signal amplitude.

tensile loading -> proof stressing

A means of testing the strength of optical fibers to ensure reliability, by applying stress to the fiber so that any flaws generated during manufacturing or handling result in breakage of the fiber.

tessar lens

A lens similar to the Cooke triplet anastigmat, with the rear crown achromatized for improved coverage and definition. It is used in medium-speed cameras and enlargers.

thermal lensing

Distortion of an optical component as a result of heat, which can influence the divergence and the mode quality of a beam passing through the component.

thick lens

A lens with an axial thickness adequate to make it producible.

Photonics Dictionary

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