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Photonics Dictionary

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 constant
The universal constant h that has a value of 6.6260693 x 10-34 Js. A quantum of energy is equal to the product of the frequency of the radiation and Planck's constant.
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 densitometer
An instrument designed to give precise and rapid detection of changes in tumor growth as well as the location of small tumors by providing a three-dimensional picture of the tissue.
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 table -> surveying instruments
Instruments used for measuring angles and occasionally lengths on the ground. The principal surveying instruments are the level, the stadia telescope, the transit and the theodolite. Laser...
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 lens -> 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...
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...
planoconcave lens
A lens with one plane surface and one concave surface.
planoconvex lens
A lens that has one plane surface and one convex surface.
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.
plasma-cathode electron gun
An electron beam gun in which plasma that is generated within a low-voltage hollow-cathode discharge serves as the source of electrons.
plasma-coupled device
Monolithic self-scanning linear image sensor array for multichannel spectroscopy with a spectral range of from 200 to 1000 nm.
plasmon
Calculated quantity of the entire longitudinal wave of a solid substance's electron gas.
plasmon ion-assisted deposition
Plasmon ion-assisted deposition (PIAD) is a technique used in thin-film deposition processes, particularly in the production of optical coatings. This method combines two key processes: plasmon...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically,...
plastic fiber
Fiber in which both core and cladding are made of plastic.
plastic jackets
The direct cladding used for fused silica cores to create large numerical aperture fibers and used as overcoats to glass-clad fibers to reduce microbend loss and increase mechanical protection.
plastic lens
A lens made from transparent plastic material. Lenses over 31/2 in. in diameter are usually machined, ground and polished. Smaller lenses are usually injection molded, the mount surrounding the lens...
plastic optical fiber
Plastic optical fiber (POF) is a type of optical fiber made from transparent plastic, typically polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polycarbonate. Unlike traditional glass optical fibers, which are made...
plastic optics
Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...
plastic polishing
Polishing with a plastic pad.
plastic-clad silica fiber
An optical waveguide having a silica core and a plastic cladding.
plate crystal
Any crystalline material whose length is much less than its measured diameter.
platen -> film platen
A mechanism in a camera designed to position the film in the focal plane for exposure.
platinum silicide
A semiconductor material used in photodetectors, sensitive in the infrared up to 5 µm.
platonic solid
Geometrical partition possible with a sphere that can be four, six, eight, 12 or 20 solid-angle wedges. Each platonic mass is made up of a given number of regular polygonal faces and is classified...
PLC
programmable logic controller; planar lightwave circuit
PLD
pulsed laser deposition
PLE
photoluminescence excitation

Photonics Dictionary

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