Photonics Dictionary

Also known as corner-cube reflector or retrodirective reflector. Three reflecting surfaces, perpendicular to each other, that are arranged like the inside corner of a cube. As the triple mirror has a...

A lens assembly made up of three lens elements that may or may not be cemented.

The values of the three standard or matching stimuli necessary to provide a match with the light under trial, in a specified trichromatic system.

The size of the field of view in the object space of an optical system as differentiated from that in the image space (apparent field).

The process by which a surface is made to conform accurately to a given curvature.

In a fiber optic communications network, a circuit that connects two switching centers and does not branch off to terminal points.

Any form of laser; e.g., a dye laser, having an output that can be adjusted over a wide range of wavelengths. Normally the range is about 70 nm wide.

Light that is emitted from a phosphor film applied to the surface of a three-layer thin film, respectively metal, oxide and metal.

An observed effect of the ability of certain atomic particles to pass through a barrier that they cannot pass over because of the required energy level, based on a law of quantum mechanics that...

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by the presence of suspended particles. These particles can include sediment, silt, clay, plankton, and other microscopic...

Simulation of atmospheric turbulence for laboratory experimentation purposes, achieved by creating an unstable vertical gradient temperature in a tank filled with water.

A rotating plate containing two or more lenses to provide a rapid interchange.

Characteristic of an acousto-optic modulator, defined by the overlap integral of the incident light and sound field profiles; similar to a convolution operator.

This results from the simultaneous absorption of two photons, each having half the energy needed for excitation and requiring a high spatial and temporal concentration of photons. The ensuing...

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is a technique used in additive manufacturing, specifically in the field of 3D printing. It involves using a focused laser to polymerize a photosensitive material in a...

Referring to compound semiconductor materials combining one element with two valence electrons and one or more with six. Examples include beryllium oxide and zinc selenide. (II-VI).

The form taken by scattered light, as a result of the Tyndall effect.

The effect by which sufficiently small particles will scatter blue light at right angles to the incident beam. This scattered light is completely linearly polarized.

An ultrafast pulsed laser is a type of laser that emits extremely short pulses of light with durations typically on the order of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) or picoseconds (10-12 seconds). These...

A form of microfiche that has an information reduction ratio that is greater than 100 to 1.

Photographic recording of rapid events at a rate exceeding 106 frames per second.

The process of microphotography that involves the reduction of the original at a ratio greater than 100 to 1. The process is usually accomplished by the use of a reduced-scale negative, which, in...

A dark-field microscope used to view extremely small objects. These objects are suspended in a gas or liquid in an enclosure having a black background. A convergent pencil of bright light enters from...

A highly accurate cathode-ray tube used to display information with the utmost efficient stability and resolution. The information is viewed as a series of points, particularly suited for...

A laser capable of generating light pulses that last only a few femtoseconds. This can be achieved by nonlinear filtering to increase bandwidth and compress the pulse or by passive mode-locking or...

A device that uses a piezoelectric crystal to convert ultrasonic sound waves, transmitted through a subject, into a voltage that modulates the electron beam of a cathode-ray tube.

Ultrasound used in the cleaning of metal and optical parts by virtue of its vibration rates. Large acoustic forces break off particles and contaminants from surfaces.

A two- or three-dimensional space grating formed when ultrasonic beams with varied paths of propagation intersect.

The space between diffracting centers of an ultrasonic wave that is forming certain light diffraction spectra.

The formation and display of three-dimensional images by ultrasonic energy. In one technique, the energy pulses from an ultrasonic transducer scan the object through a liquid medium and, receiving...

The optical diffraction spectra formed, or the method that produces them, when a light beam is transmitted through a longitudinal sound field.

An instrument with a fluid that modulates a light beam traversing it because of the effect of ultrasonic waves passing through the fluid.

A light-interference device whose excitation is determined by the modulation of a light beam by an ultrasonic field.

Ultrasonic refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, typically above 20,000 Hz. These waves are termed ultrasonic because they are beyond the range...

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) refers to a specific range of ultraviolet radiation with shorter wavelengths than those of visible light. UV-C radiation spans the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths...

A technique, involving spectrophotometry in the ultraviolet, that is designed to determine the colors of thin-layer chromatographic absorbents after elution.

Ultraviolet (UV) fiber optics refers to optical fibers that are designed and optimized for the transmission of ultraviolet light, which is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than...

A lens intended for use with wavelengths shorter than about 380 nm. It must be made of quartz, calcium fluoride, lithium fluoride or some other material transparent to ultraviolet radiation, as glass...

A microscope used either to detect selective absorption of various wavelengths by the specimen or to achieve increased resolution by virtue of the short wavelength of ultraviolet radiation. Electron...

The study and photographing of microscope specimens in ultraviolet light; using an optical microscope containing fluorite and quartz components to efficiently image wavelengths much shorter than the...

A pulsed laser having molecular nitrogen as laser material and a wavelength output of 337 nm in the ultraviolet region. It is essentially a channel flashtube in which a pulse is applied to the...

A technique for measuring the energy spectrum of electrons emitted during the absorption of ultraviolet radiation. This spectrum reveals the characteristic ionization energies of the molecules and...

The photographic recording that uses ultraviolet radiation to irradiate the microscope sample being examined and to form an image of the object on a photographic medium. The components of the...