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Zurich Instruments AG - Boost Your Optics July-August MR

3,656 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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chemical laser

A laser that relies on chemical activity instead of electrical energy to produce the pumping action necessary to form pulses of light.

chemical microscopy

The field of microscopy as applied to chemical problems and analysis.

chemical vapor deposition equipment

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

chemical vapor deposition

Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also outside vapor-phase oxidation; inside vapor-phase oxidation.

chemical-mechanical polishing

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

chemiluminescence

A chemical reaction involving the production of light. The reaction of ethylene with ozone is chemiluminescent.

chemosphere

Also known as mesosphere. A level of the atmosphere, extending from the stratosphere to the ionosphere, that is noted for its photochemical activity.

chip-on-board lights

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

chiral

Description of a particle that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.

chirality

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In other words, a chiral object or molecule cannot be exactly superimposed onto...

chirped mirrors

Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...

chirped-pulse amplification

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a technique used in laser physics to amplify ultrashort laser pulses to high energies without causing damage to the amplifying medium. The method was first...

chirping

A rapid change, as opposed to a long-term drift, of the emission wavelength of an optical source. Chirping is most often observed in pulsed operation of a source.

Christiansen effect

The monochromatic transparency effect produced by the immersion of a finely powdered substance (e.g., glass or quartz) into a liquid with a similar refractive index.

Christiansen-effect filter

A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion; used to isolate narrow spectral regions.

chroma

1. Attribute of a visual sensation that permits a judgment to be made of the amount of pure chromatic color present. 2. The portion of a composite video signal that carries the chrominance values,...

chromatic aberration

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...

chromatic difference of magnification -> chromatic aberration

chromatic dispersion -> dispersion

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

chromatic vision -> color vision

Color vision refers to the ability of organisms to perceive and distinguish different wavelengths of light as different colors. It is a sensory ability that allows humans and many other animals to...

chromatography

The chemical method of separating compounds dissolved in one phase (usually mobile) through its equilibration with a second phase (usually stationary). The mechanism of separation may involve...

chrominance

The difference between any color and a reference color having equal luminance and a specified chromaticity.

chromosphere

A layer between the corona and the photosphere of the sun; its emission is overwhelmed by light emitted by the underlying, denser photosphere.

CID -> charge-injection device

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a semiconductor material. Charge-coupled devices are a specific implementation of this...

CID camera

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

CIE

Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage, the international commission on illumination.

CIE

Commission Internationale de l' Eclairage (International Commission on Illumination)

CIE illuminant

Spectral power distribution representing a standard source of illumination, which may be real or hypothetical.

CIE source

Standard light source representative of the quality of specified natural or artificial illumination.

CIM

computer input from microfilm; computer-integrated manufacturing

cinemicrography

Cinematography performed with the use of a microscope to film the actions of microscopic specimens.

cineradiography

The photographic filming of the action of x-ray images recorded on a fluorescent screen by means of large lens apertures and highly sensitive filters.

cinetheodolite -> phototheodolite

A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure is made. The exact point indicated by the scale readings is shown by...

circle, aiming -> aiming circle

An instrument designed to measure angles in azimuth; used in general topographic work and military gunnery.

circular birefringence

The optical phenomenon in which right circularly polarized light transmitted by an active medium travels at a different velocity than that of left circularly polarized light.

circular dichroism spectroscopy

A type of spectroscopy used extensively in the analysis of biological samples. Because most biologically synthesized molecules, such as proteins, are optically active, circular dichroism spectroscopy...

circular dichroism

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

circular variable filter

An optical interference coating, vacuum-deposited on a circular substrate, whose transmission characteristics may be varied by physical rotation.

cathodoluminescence

cladding

The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is...

cladding mode

A mode that is confined by virtue of a lower-index medium surrounding the cladding. Cladding modes, in the terminology of mode descriptors, are equivalent to cladding rays in the terminology of...

cleanroom

An area in which airborne particulates can be monitored and controlled so that given size particles do not exceed a specified concentration, thereby eliminating potential dysfunctions in gyroscopes,...

clear aperture

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an individual component. Also known as free aperture or objective aperture. The...

clearing

Also called shining. Grinding and polishing one surface of a blank to permit a more thorough examination for quality.

closed-circuit television system

A television system that does not broadcast television signals but transmits them over a closed circuit.

closed-loop adaptive single parameter

A closed-loop system that compensates for thermal blooming by optimizing only one parameter: the amplitude of the phase correction.

CLSM

confocal laser scanning microscope

CMOS

complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

CMOS -> complementary metal-oxide semiconductor

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) refers to a technology used in the fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly semiconductor devices like microprocessors, memory chips, and image...

CMOS camera

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

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