Photonics Dictionary

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...

A device incorporating a spatial light modulator and a reference filter; used for matching an input optical waveform or signal with stored data in a photonic computer. This technique is done using...

A measure of the transmittance through an optical medium. Optical density equals the log to the base 10 of the reciprocal of the transmittance. where τλ is transmittance. In spectroscopy,...

Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and components to meet specific performance requirements and application needs....

Optical design software refers to specialized computer programs used by optical engineers, physicists, and designers to simulate, model, analyze, and optimize the performance of optical systems and...

The physical length of the light path in a substance divided by the refractive index of that substance. See also equivalent air path.

Optical fiber optic switches are devices used in optical fiber communication systems to selectively route optical signals from one input fiber to one or more output fibers. They play a crucial role...

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

An optical gate typically refers to a device or system that controls the transmission of light, allowing it to pass through or be blocked in a manner analogous to an electronic gate controlling the...

Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...

An optical grating, in the context of optics and physics, refers to a device with a periodic structure of closely spaced, parallel slits or rulings. These slits or rulings act as obstacles to the...

The use of photonic devices rather than electronic devices to make connections within and between integrated circuits.

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....

Optical materials refer to substances or compounds specifically chosen for their optical properties and used in the fabrication of optical components and systems. These materials are characterized by...

An optical modulator is a device used to control or modify a property of light, such as its amplitude, phase, polarization, or frequency. Optical modulators are essential components in a wide range...

An instrument that measures several optical parameters, such as optical power and wavelength, with a single measurement input.

Optical noise refers to undesirable fluctuations or disturbances in an optical signal that can affect the quality or integrity of the transmitted information. This type of noise is particularly...

Optical parametric amplification (OPA) is a process in nonlinear optics where a weak signal beam is amplified by a much stronger pump beam through the nonlinear interaction in a nonlinear optical...

A laser-pumped crystal with nonlinear optical properties inside of an optical resonator in which the output generates coherent light whose output can be tuned continuously over a variety of infrared...

Optical perturbation refers to any disturbance or alteration in the characteristics of light as it propagates through or interacts with a medium. This perturbation can include changes in the...

Also known as a white-light interferometer. Measures surface texture and shape from nanometer-scale roughness to millimeter-scale step heights. A standard arrangement includes an illumination source,...

An instrument for determining the temperature of a hot object by examining the color spectrum of the visible light it gives off and comparing it to the known temperature and wavelength spectrum of...

Optical strain sensors are devices that utilize optical principles to measure the deformation or strain experienced by a material under mechanical stress. These sensors convert changes in strain into...

An optical table, also known as an optical bench or an optical breadboard, is a specialized platform used in optics laboratories for mounting and aligning optical components. These tables provide a...

An optical testing instrument is a device or system used to evaluate and measure the performance, quality, and characteristics of optical components, systems, and devices. These instruments play a...

A method for characterizing a fiber wherein an optical pulse is transmitted through the fiber, and the resulting light scattered and reflected to the input is measured (by an optical time-domain...

Sets of paired lines carefully designed to give the most accurate pointing possible for various lengths of sight.

Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic objects, such as particles or biological cells, in three dimensions. This...

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and its manifestation as both particle and wave phenomena. It encompasses the...

A monolithic device containing both photonic and electronic sources, detectors, modulators, etc., on a single semiconductor substrate.

Optomechanical refers to the integration of optical and mechanical systems or components. In optomechanical systems, optics (related to the manipulation of light) and mechanics (related to the...

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) technology that utilizes organic compounds to produce light. OLEDs are commonly used in display technologies, such as...

A system in which a supplied signal causes the deflection of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube, thus forming a visible trace on the phosphor screen of the tube and providing for examination of...

A projector used to project transparencies. A horizontal 8 x 10-in. stage for writing or laying down preformed transparencies is provided with either an elliptical mirror or a plastic Fresnel lens...

1. In a photonic interconnect, the number of detectors in a given area. Detectors spaced too closely may give rise to crosstalk. 2. In the cross section of a fiber optic bundle, the ratio of fiber...

The production of a positron-electron pair by a photon having energy greater than one mega-electron-volt, whereby some of the photon energy is converted to the rest mass of the pair.

A camera designed to form a continuous record of an expansive section of the horizon. The typical panoramic camera is mounted to rotate about a vertical axis. A slit opening in the film plane and the...

A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a paraboloidal surface through which the axis does not pass, and is known as an...

An array of lines in the infrared region of the emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen. Their wave numbers are expressed by the equation: where represents the wave number in the reciprocal centimeters,...