Photonics Dictionary

Material hardness scale that is used to characterize the scratch resistance of various materials. This surface hardness evaluation is determined by scratching the surface to be tested with 10...

An optical interference technique widely utilized as a method of nondestructive testing when determining the ray deflection and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of an optical system associated...

The resulting interference pattern generated from moiré deflectometry, the moiré pattern is a pattern developed from interference or light blocking, when gratings, screens or regularly...

Contour mapping technique that involves positioning a grating close to an object and observing its shadow on the object through the grating. The resultant moiré fringes correspond to a contour line...

A blank whose basic surface curves are attained by heating and forming a given weight of raw glass; a rough glass blank resembling the finished lens in size and shape. After molding, a precision lens...

A method of predicting the nonlinear optical effects exhibited by different molecules without synthesizing the molecules themselves.

A molecular motor refers to a nano-sized device composed of organic molecules or other small-scale components that can convert light energy into mechanical motion at the molecular level. These...

Spectrum analysis concerned with the spectra formed by transitions in molecules.

Graphic evaluation of the operation of a steam thermodynamic cycle of a solar energy system on which enthalpy is plotted against entropy.

Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) is a dichalcogenide compound composed of molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se). It belongs to the family of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), which have garnered...

In a laser diode, the photocurrent produced by a photodiode that detects the emission from the rear facet of the semiconductor chip. It can be used to provide feedback control of the forward current...

Composed of one color; having only one wavelength of radiation.

A filter that transmits a single spectral line emitted by a line source.

Light consisting of a single wavelength or a very narrow band of wavelengths.

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

Made up of a single color.

With respect to a crystal, a monoclinic crystal consists of three unequal axes, two of which intersect each other obliquely and yet still form right angles to the third.

A type of tubing used to protect optical fiber cables, consisting of a wire spiral of aluminum, galvanized steel or stainless steel, encased in a polyvinyl chloride or silicon rubber coating. These...

1. Viewed with one eye. 2. Describing an image as viewed from a single angle.

A monocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) that is part of the innate immune system. Monocytes are produced in the bone marrow and circulate in the bloodstream. They are characterized by...

Pertaining to radiation or particle emission, whereby the emission is produced with minimal energy spread.

A device that is fabricated in a single piece; A device (i.e. circuit) that is operated at a single frequency or a single class of frequencies.

A molecule that has the ability to chemically combine with other molecules to form a polymer, hence being capable of being polymerized. See polymer; polymerization

Process that occurs when a polymerized soft plastic rod with higher refractive index is placed in a bath of a lower refractive-index monomer to obtain plastic fibers with a nearly parabolic index...

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...

A matrix-controlled display that has no information storage at the display surface.

Simulation of radiative transfer in which each photon is generated by a source and its path through the medium is statistically simulated with absorption and scattering probabilities as well as with...

A set of algorithms used to study the structural and spatial characteristics of objects in a digitized image for applications including feature extraction and image segmentation in machine vision and...

In image processing, the study of structure or form of objects in an image.

One surface of a nonconducting plate that is coated with many minute particles of photoemissive material that are insulated from one another.

A large telescope mirror fabricated from several smaller sections.

In a crystal, its subdivision into polyhedral blocks of macroscopic sizes, with discontinuities contained in the lattice formation between them.

Spectroscopy characterized by the Mossbauer effect - recoilless emission and absorption of nuclear gamma radiation- which investigates miniscule changes in the energy levels of atomic nuclei in...

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 camera equipped with a lens and a long length of perforated film, the latter being moved intermittently between exposures by a pulldown claw or sprocket. A rotating shutter serves to cut off the...

See gimbal mount; kinematic mount; lens mount.

An adhesive used to hold optical components in their mounts. It may be a thermoplastic or chemical-hardening substance.

The visual phenomenon of the apparent difference in the rate of motion of two objects that are actually moving at the same velocity but that lie at different distances from the observer.