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8,692 terms
Photonics Dictionary
auto-iris lens
A device for automatic exposure control in which a motor-driven diaphragm adjusts the aperture in response to a signal from a photocell detecting ambient light.
autocollimating spectrograph
A spectrograph in which the refracted beam returns almost along the path traveled by the incident beam, and is brought to a focus by the lens that collimates the incident beam.
autocollimation
Technique of projecting an illuminated target at infinity and receiving the target image after reflection from a flat mirror surface.
autocollimator
An autocollimator is an optical instrument used for measuring small angular deviations with high precision. It operates on the principle of autocollimation, where a light source is directed onto a...
autocorrelator
A signal-averaging device that improves signal-to-noise ratio by comparing a sampled signal with a time-delayed form of itself.
autofluorescence
Autofluorescence refers to the natural emission of fluorescence exhibited by certain biological structures or molecules when exposed to light. Unlike fluorescence that results from the application of...
autofocus system
A means of adjusting the sharpness of an image automatically, with a sensor for estimating distance or contrast and a drive mechanism to adjust the lens. Active systems generate a light source to...
autoguider
A CCD sensor that provides feedback to the motion control system for a telescope, allowing the telescope to follow a particular object or section of sky automatically.
autoluminescence
The luminescence of a substance that is produced by energy within it (e.g., radioactive material).
automated optical inspection
Automated optical inspection (AOI) is a technology used in manufacturing processes, particularly in electronics, to automatically inspect and detect defects or anomalies in products. AOI systems use...
automatic current control
Automatic current control (ACC) refers to a system or mechanism designed to regulate and maintain a desired level of electric current in a circuit or device without manual intervention. This control...
automatic gain control
A method of producing an essentially constant output signal from an electronic circuit despite variations in the strength of the input signal.
automatic optical inspection
A system for automatic industrial process control or measurement, consisting of an optical module for image acquisition, a segmentation processor to isolate the image from its background, and an...
automatic power control circuit
->
monitor current
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...
automatic profiling
In fiber optics, the use of a detector to study the range of refractive indices achieved at various wavelengths. This information is calculated electronically to establish the divergence between...
automatic recording spectrograph
A direct reading spectrograph having a photomultiplier assembly in place of a photographic plate. The output from the photomultiplier assembly is received by a microammeter or a pen recorder.
autopositive
Any photographic medium that, when chemically developed, produces an exact photographic reproduction of the original.
autoradiography
The photographic recording of the distribution and location of radioactive substances found in a specimen. The record formed is the autoradiograph.
autostigmatic microscope
A microscope to which a beamsplitter and illuminated reticle have been added to measure the radius of curvature of a spherical surface by locating both surface and center and calculating the distance...
aux
auxiliary
auxiliary telescope
A low-power telescope placed at the eyepiece of an optical system to increase overall magnification. Most often used to evaluate image quality.
AV
audiovisual
AVA
Automated Vision Association
avalanche photodiode
A device that utilizes avalanche multiplication of photocurrent by means of hole-electrons created by absorbed photons. When the device's reverse-bias voltage nears breakdown level, the hole-electron...
AVC
active vibration cancellation
AVD
axial vapor deposition
average power
In a pulsed laser, the pulse energy in joules times the repetition rate in hertz.
averaged threshold receiver
A receiver for optical communications systems consisting of a symmetric binary, pulse-code-modulated transmitter, a log-normal channel and an array of independent photocounting detectors that yield...
aversion response
Eye blink or head movement in response to bright light. Aversion responses such as blinking are sufficient protection from less hazardous lasers, including Class 2 lasers. An eye blink can occur, at...
averted vision
In astronomy, the method of deliberately viewing objects with peripheral vision to take advantage of the eye's greater sensitivity to faint light a few degrees from the optical center.
avg
average
AVLIS
atomic vapor laser isotope separation
Avogadro's constant
The number of molecules in one gram mole of a substance, numerically approximated by 6.02 x 1023.
AVPIDS
acoustic video processor integrated display station
AVS
American Vacuum Society
AWB
automatic white balance
AWG
American wire gauge;arrayed waveguide grating
AWGN
additive white Gaussian noise
AXAF
advanced x-ray astrophysics facility
axial bundle
A bundle of rays that originates from an object point on the optical axis of a lens system.
axial color
A lens aberration that causes axial light rays having different wavelengths to focus at various points along the axis.
axial gradient
In gradient index optics, a gradient profile in which the refractive index varies along the direction of light propagation, or optical axis. Axial gradient lenses can be used to correct spherical...
axial gradient technology
A method of designing lasers whereby the laser rod is cut into elliptical discs and cooled by running water over the disc surfaces. The cooling circuit decreases the radial temperature gradients in...
axial paraxial ray
A paraxial light ray that extends from an object point on the optical axis.
axial propagation constant
The propagation constant evaluated along the axis of a waveguide, that is, in the direction of transmission. Also called axial propagation wave number.
axial slab interferometry
->
slab interferometry
The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by preparing a thin sample that has its faces perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, and measuring its index profile by interferometry.
axial vapor-phase deposition
A vapor-phase oxidation process for fabricating graded-index optical fibers. It differs from outside vapor phase deposition in that the preform is developed radially rather than longitudinally. An...
axicon
An axicon is a type of optical component characterized by its conical shape and its ability to transform a collimated Gaussian beam of light into a ring-shaped beam with a gradually increasing...
axis
A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body and indicating its center; a line so positioned that various portions of an object are located symmetrically in relation to the line. See...
Az
azimuth
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Photonics Dictionary
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