Register
Sign In
Suppliers
Products
Categories
Handbook
Dictionary
Careers
Resources
Photonics Spectra
BioPhotonics
Vision Spectra
Virtual Events & Summits
Educational Institutions
Add/Update Your Listing
Exhibitor Listing Portal
Become an Exhibitor
Buyers' Guide Print Edition
Marketplace Help
Subscribe
Advertise
Suppliers
Products
Categories
Handbook
Dictionary
Careers
Resources
Photonics Spectra
BioPhotonics
Vision Spectra
Virtual Events & Summits
Educational Institutions
Add/Update Your Listing
Exhibitor Listing Portal
Become an Exhibitor
Buyers' Guide Print Edition
Marketplace Help
Register
Sign In
Photonics Marketplace
Suppliers
Products
Handbook
Institutions
Dictionary
Show Filters
Hide Filters
Type
Definitions
Abbreviations/Acronyms
Browse by Letter
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
5,268 terms
Photonics Dictionary
Clear All Filters x
ions x
binary on-off
Signal used in optical transmission systems to generate currents in a detector that are decoded with reference to a specified threshold.
binary optics
Optical elements, often created by micromachining, lithography or vacuum deposition, that rely on diffraction of the collected energy as opposed to the more common refracting or reflecting optics....
binning
Combining adjacent pixels into one larger pixel, resulting in increased sensitivity and lower resolution, or, in image analysis, excluding objects based on shape, position or area.
binocular collimation
The adjustment of a binocular instrument so that the lines of sight of both telescopes are parallel.
binocular luster
The glossy appearance of an object viewed, because of the binocular combination of two very unlike colors.
binocular magnifier
A device having a pair of decentered lenses, one for each eye, that focuses on a single object as a magnifier. It is often supplied with a forehead fixture or an elastic headband to leave the hands...
binocular microscope
A microscope designed with two eyepieces (oculars), permitting the use of both eyes when viewing through the instrument.
binocular parallax
The difference in angular bearing of an object as seen by the two eyes, due to the separation of the visual optical axes.
binocular threshold
The absolute luminance threshold for detection by the two eyes.
binocular vision
The ability of the two eyes to see an object from two slightly different points of view. This difference allows an individual to perceive the depth and dimension of the object in view.
biocular
A term pertaining to devices (generally optical) designed for use with both eyes viewing through a single exit pupil. The term may be distinguished from binocular in that biocular instruments contain...
bioelectricity
Bioelectricity refers to the electrical potentials and currents generated by biological processes within living organisms. These electrical phenomena arise from the movement of ions across cell...
bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the natural phenomenon where living organisms produce light through a chemical reaction. In the context of photonics, bioluminescence has significant implications for both research...
biomarker
A biomarker, short for biological marker, refers to a measurable and quantifiable indicator of a biological condition, process, or response. Biomarkers can be substances or characteristics that are...
biometrics
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...
biomimicry
Biomimicry, or biomimetic design, is the practice of emulating natural processes, systems, and structures found in biological organisms to solve human problems or create innovative technologies. It...
bionics
The application of observed operational processes of sophisticated living organisms to mechanical and electrical systems in order to analogize capabilities or efficiency.
biophotonics
The technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...
biostimulation
The action of a biological system responding to a single or multiple coherent particles of light produced from a laser source. Examples of laser biostimulation include: retinal interaction of light...
biplanar image tube
Also called proximity focus image intensifier. A compact image intensifier that utilizes a microchannel plate intensification stage. This is an in-line device that does not invert the image.
BIRDIE
battery integration and radar display equipment
birefringence
Birefringence is an optical property of certain materials that causes them to exhibit different refractive indices for light of different polarizations. In other words, when light passes through a...
birefringent filter
A filter that transmits light in a series of sharp, widely spaced wavelength bands by its sandwich construction of alternating layers of polarizing films and plates cut from birefringent crystal.
bistability
->
optical bistability
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...
bistable display
A matrix-controlled display that has information storage at the display surface, and requires that an element be addressed only once to assure that it is on or off.
bit
A contraction of binary digit; the fundamental unit of digital computing, a bit is either 1 or 0, expressing the binary state of on or off, true or false, etc.
bit boundary block transfer
A data transfer function that moves a rectangular group of pixels between bit maps. Often used in displaying cursors and pop-up windows.
Bjerrum screen
In ophthalmic practice, an instrument that determines the boundaries of the field of view. It is composed of a 2-m square of black velvet with a white spot center at which the patient, 1 m away,...
black level
The level of the television picture signal that corresponds to the maximum limit of black peaks.
black light
Radiation from the invisible (usually ultraviolet) region of the spectrum.
black surface enclosure
An enclosure whose walls are coated to absorb completely all radiation striking them.
blackbody
An ideal body that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it and, therefore, appears perfectly black at all wavelengths. The radiation emitted by such a body when heated is referred to as...
blackbody simulator
A source that attempts to create the characteristics of an ideal blackbody. It consists of a cavity, generally spherical, made of an opaque material and insulated from thermal effects, with a small...
blackbody source
A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...
BLADE
basic-level automation of data through electronics
blaze
1. A plane that forms one side of the groove ruled on a diffraction grating. 2. To form the individual grooves of a grating with flat smooth faces, inclined to the surface by an angle known as the...
blaze height
Blaze height typically refers to a parameter in the context of diffraction gratings, which are optical devices consisting of a series of closely spaced parallel grooves or slits. The blaze height is...
blaze wavelength
The light wavelength for which the direction of reflectance from the groove face is identical to the angle of diffraction for a specified angle of incidence.
BLC
backlight compensation
bleach (or bleacher)
A chemical used in the developing of positive photographs that incites oxidation and thereby dissolves the negative silver to vary tone, color and intensity.
bleaching
->
saturable absorber
A saturable absorber is a type of optical device that exhibits variable absorption properties depending on the intensity of incident light. In essence, it becomes less absorbent as the light...
blind approach beacon system
A ground-based navigation beacon that emits pulsed signals which are picked up by aircraft making an instrument (blind) approach in landing. The signal is transmitted to the aircraft's L-scan...
blindness
The inability to perceive visual images (visible radiant energy). In human beings, blindness is defined as a visual acuity of less than one-tenth normal vision.
blink comparator
An optical system that rapidly alternates two similar pictures or scenes to permit the detection of small dissimilarities between them.
blinking
Intentionally alternating the intensity of a display element in a graphic display device.
blocking
The process whereby blanks are attached to a block in a position for grinding or polishing.
blooming
The loss of focus of a camera sensor because of excessive brightness, characterized by the enlargement of spot size and halation on a cathode-ray tube.
blue diode laser
A blue diode laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits light in the blue wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically between 400 and 500 nanometers. Diode lasers are compact,...
blue noise
Noise over a specified frequency range, in which the spectral density is proportional to the frequency instead of being independent of it, as in white noise.
blur circle
A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...
<
1
2
3
...
9
10
11
12
13
...
104
105
106
>
Photonics Dictionary
Need Help?
Explore Our Content
News
Features
Latest Products
Webinars
White Papers
All Things Photonics Podcast
Videos
Our Summits & Conferences
Industry Events
Bookstore
Join Our Community
Subscribe
Advertise
Become a member
Sign in
Contribute a Feature
Suggest a Webinar
Submit a Press Release
Mobile Apps
About Us
Our Company
Our Publications
Contact Us
Career Opportunities
Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
©2024 Photonics Media
100 West St.
Pittsfield, MA, 01201 USA
[email protected]
We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our
Privacy Policy
. By using this website, you agree to the use of
cookies
unless you have disabled them.