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Photonics Dictionary
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PIL
picosecond injection laser
PIM
pulse intensity modulation; pulse interval modulation
PIN
positive-intrinsic-negative
PIN photodiode
A PIN photodiode is a type of photodetector or semiconductor device used to convert light signals into electrical signals. The name "PIN" is derived from the arrangement of the three semiconductor...
pincushion distortion
An aberration of a lens system caused by an increase in lens focal length as the field angle increases. The amount of distortion normally increases as the cube of the image height.
pinhole camera
A lensless photographic camera that uses a small sharp-edged hole as its aperture. The light passed by this aperture onto the camera's film plane produces a soft-edged image that has a wide field of...
pinhole eyepiece
A type of eyepiece, or the modification of an eyepiece, in which a small hole, without a lens, functions as the eye lens; used in the adjustment and alignment of microscopes.
pink noise
->
flicker noise
Any noise with a power spectral density that is the inverse of the signal's frequency and is therefore most significant for low-frequency signals. It can be expressed as 1/f and is therefore also...
pipeline
In image processing and elsewhere, generally an adjective to describe an assembly-line arrangement for performing a task. For example, an image is put through one kind of processing step and then...
PIPO
power in/power out
Pirani gauge
A vacuum gauge designed to measure very high degrees of vacuum by thermal conduction.
PIRT
precision infrared triangulation
pistoning
Motion of a fiber into and out of the ferrule. This effect is often caused by changes in temperature.
pit
The micrometer-size depressions that store data digitally in an optical data storage medium.
pitch polishing compound
Pitch for polishing mixed with other materials to give it the right viscosity so that it will follow the fine-ground lens surface and yet maintain contact at all times.
pitch
In positioning, rotation about an axis normal to the line of sight. Also known as attitude.
PIV
particle imaging velocimetry
PIXE
particle-induced x-ray emission
pixel binning
Pixel binning, also known as pixel merging or pixel combining, is a technique used in digital imaging and camera technology. It involves the combining or grouping of adjacent pixels on an image...
pixel group processing
In digital image processing, a subcategory of frame processing that treats each pixel in terms of its relationship to adjacent pixels. Perceived brightness trends facilitate spatial filtering.
pixel pitch
Pixel pitch refers to the distance between the centers of two adjacent pixels on a display screen or imaging sensor. It is typically measured in millimeters and is a crucial specification in...
pixel
A pixel, short for "picture element," is the smallest controllable element of a digital image or display. It is a fundamental unit that represents a single point in a raster image, which is a grid of...
PL
photoluminescence
planar access coupler
Low-insertion-loss fiber coupler fabricated from a sheet of light-sensitive material laminated onto a fused quartz substrate and exposed through a suitable mask. After development of the plastic...
planar magnetron
A device used in the sputtering of thin films, in which a magnet system on the back of the cathode deflects the electrons, lengthening the ionization path. The accelerated ions transfer their...
Planck's (radiation) law
The formula describing the spectral radiant emittance of a perfect blackbody as a function of its temperature and the wavelength of the emitted radiation. where Wλ equals radiation...
Planck's law
A fundamental law of quantum theory which states that the discrete quanta of energy transfers associated with electromagnetic radiation are proportional to the frequency of the radiation.
Planckian locus
Locus of points on a chromaticity diagram that includes the chromaticities of blackbody radiators.
Planckian radiator
A synonym for blackbody or complete radiator.
plane
A surface that has no curvature; a surface that is perfectly flat.
plane grating
A transmission or reflecting grating with a flat or plane surface requiring a lens or concave mirror to focus the spectrum.
plane hologram
A two-dimensional hologram.
plane holographic grating
The generation of a grating on a flat surface by means of a series of interference fringes formed by a holographic process. See holographic grating.
plane of polarization
->
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...
plane of symmetry
An imaginary plane dividing a body into two parts so that each part is the precise mirror image of the other in the plane of symmetry.
plane wave
A wave whose surfaces of constant phase are infinite parallel planes normal to the direction of propagation.
plane wavefront
->
wavefront
A wavefront refers to the continuous surface or boundary representing points in a wave that are in phase, meaning they have the same phase or position in their respective cycles. In simpler terms,...
plane-parallel plate
->
window
1. A piece of glass with plane parallel surfaces used to admit light into an optical system and to exclude dirt and moisture. 2. A particular region of the electromagnetic spectrum that has been...
plane-polarized light
A light beam whose electric vectors all vibrate in a single fixed plane.
planetary camera
A camera system used for microphotography in which the document to be recorded is on a flat bed, perpendicular to the lens axis. The camera head is located above the copyboard on a column and may be...
planform bonding
A manufacturing process used to construct substrates for large optical components. Used with IR materials, planform bonding permits the joining of several smaller pieces to be used in place of a...
plano
A plano in optics describes a lens, mirror, or other optical component that has one flat (plane) surface. The term is typically used in combination with another term that describes the curvature of...
plasma
A gas made up of electrons and ions.
plasma accelerator
A plasma accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that uses electric fields and magnetic fields to accelerate charged particles, typically electrons or ions, by exploiting the motion of charged...
plasma chemical vapor deposition
The use of a plasma to induce the formation of oxides in the production of graded-index optical fibers.
plasma display
A type of flat panel display made up of a layer of gas between two glass plates. The glass is coated with parallel conductors that form cells which, when energized, produce a gas discharge that makes...
plasma laser
Operates with light collectively emitted by the recombination of free electrons and ions in the plasma state.
plasma noise
Introduced into the laser beam from localized fluctuations in current density within the plasma itself. These fluctuations represent macroscopic changes of gain in the laser.
plasma physics
The study of highly ionized gases. Many phenomena not exhibited by uncharged gases are associated with plasma physics.
plasma shield
Plasma's ability to stop the transmission of laser light.
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Photonics Dictionary
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