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
8,236 terms
Photonics Dictionary
Clear All Filters x
O-E x
Plumbicon
Philips trade name for a lead oxide low-light-level vidicon tube.
plume
A mixture of ionized gas and metal vapor generated by impingement of the laser beam onto a material being welded or a weld joint. The plume causes absorption and/or scattering of the incident laser...
PLZT
A transparent lead-lanthanum zirconate titanate ceramic with optical qualities that can be controlled by applying voltages to thin plates of the material.
PLZT
lead lanthanum-modified zirconium titanate
pm
picometer
PM
polarization modulation; phase modulation; photomultiplier
PMC
programmable motion controller
PMD
physical media-dependent; polarization mode dispersion
PMDC
polarization mode dispersion compensator
PMF
polarization-maintaining fiber
PMMA
polymethyl methacrylate
PMOLED
passive-matrix organic light-emitting diode
PMR
phase-modulating receptacle
PMT
photomultiplier tube
PN junction
The transition boundary between P-type and N-type materials in a semiconductor.
PN-junction luminescence
Discharge that results when a doped semiconductor crystal with a PN junction is charged with a low-voltage direct current. The dual process depends on excitation caused by electrical energy...
pneumatic detector
A device used to detect radiant energy by means of the thermal expansion of gas.
PO
power oscillator
Pockels
In optics, the Pockels effect refers to the phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied electric field. This effect is utilized in Pockels cells, which are...
Pockels cell
A Pockels cell, also known as an electro-optic modulator, is an optical device used to control the polarization of light by applying an electric field. It is named after the physicist Friedrich Carl...
POF
plastic optical fiber
Poincaré sphere
A reference sphere used to represent all possible states of polarization. All linear polarizations will lie on the equator and circular polarizations will correspond with the poles. Named for the...
point cloud
A point cloud is a set of data points in a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point represents a specific location in space. These points are typically obtained through various sensing...
point light source
1. With respect to angular subtense, a source of light, such as a star, that is very small. In a lab, a point source may be simulated by imaging a large source onto and through a pinhole, or by...
point of fixation
An established point on which the observer's eye is focused.
point processing
In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that transforms pixel brightness and contrast through use of a mapping function. Point processing can be single-image (simple contrast...
point source
->
point light source
1. With respect to angular subtense, a source of light, such as a star, that is very small. In a lab, a point source may be simulated by imaging a large source onto and through a pinhole, or by...
point source lamp
A lamp, usually incandescent, that has a very compact filament, permitting a greater concentration of emitted light, aided by the use of small apertures and appropriate reflectors.
point spread function
The point spread function (PSF) is a fundamental concept in imaging that describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. It characterizes how a single point of light is...
point-contact crystal diode
A crystal diode whose rectifying activity is determined by the touching of the crystal to a finely pointed wire surrounded by a material of opposite type.
point-focusing collector
A device used in solar systems to direct mirror-reflected sunlight to a heat absorber and heat-driven engine, which turns a generator to produce electricity.
point-probing scanning optical microscope
point-projection x-ray microscopy
A method of producing magnified images by x-rays. The specimen is placed close to a point source of x-rays; the magnification achieved is the ratio of source-image to source-object distance....
pointer eyepiece
A Huygenian eyepiece containing a pointer at its focal plane that is used -- when viewing an object through the eyepiece -- for specific designation.
pointing interferometer
A device attached to the end of an alignment telescope that detects and calculates a plane mirror's rotation axis that is perpendicular to the line of sight. The device is adaptable for evaluation of...
points per profile
Points per profile in imaging refers to the density or resolution of data points sampled along a line or profile within an image. It indicates the number of pixels or measurement points captured...
Poisson shot noise
A stationary noise that occurs for visible light photodetection when a steady light source, such as a heterodyne reference beam or high background light, dominates the signal.
Poisson spot
->
Arago spot
A bright spot or point, due to Fresnel diffraction, that appears at the center of the shadow of a circular object in light originating from a point source. Also referred to as a Fresnel spot or...
polar
Depicting one of the two ends of an axis of rotation.
polarimeter
A polariscope with a half-shade device and an angular scale generally attached to the analyzer. It is used to measure the rotation of the plane of polarization by materials placed within it. A...
polarimetric analysis
The determination of a substance's identity or quantity through the analysis of its optical rotation. For example, the examination of crystals and polymers under polarized infrared radiation is very...
polarimetry
The measurement of the rotation of the plane of polarization of radiant energy, usually through the use of a polarimeter.
polariscope
A combination of a polarizer and an analyzer that is used to detect birefringence or rotation of the plane of polarization of materials placed between them. Useful for the determination of stress...
polariton
A polariton is a quasiparticle resulting from the strong coupling between photons (light particles) and certain types of excitations in a material, such as electronic excitations (electrons and...
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...
polarization dependent loss
In passive optical components, loss that varies as the polarization state of the propagating wave changes. Expressed as the difference between the maximum and minimum loss in decibels.
polarization direction
->
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which...
Polarization Imaging
A subsurface imaging technique based upon the polarization of light reflected off an object. The polarization of reflected light gives information about the object's absorption properties that...
polarization photometer
A photometer having a pair of Nicol prisms introduced into the beam from the brighter of two sources to be compared. Turning one of these polarizers reduces the beam to equality with the beam of the...
polarization-insensitive operation
Capability requirement for optical switches for transmission lines to process arbitrarily polarized light because of the rapid changes in the polarization state of light propagating in the fibers.
<
1
2
3
...
118
119
120
121
122
...
163
164
165
>
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.