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Photonics Dictionary

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.
polarization-preserving fiber
Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...
polarizer
An optical device capable of transforming unpolarized or natural light into polarized light, usually by selective transmission of polarized rays.
polarizing beamsplitter
polarizing coating
A coating made up of particular birefringent materials having polarizing properties. It may be used, in some cases, to replace Polaroid or polarizing prisms.
polarizing filter
A filter that polarizes light passing through it. It is possible to fabricate sheets of plastic or gelatin that contain birefringent crystals so oriented as to pass only polarized light. Such sheets...
polarizing prism
A device that is used to produce or analyze plane-polarized light. It may be a Nicol prism or some other form of calcite prism or a polarizing filter.
poling
The process of aligning the crystallites in a piezoelectric material by placing a large DC field across the element at an elevated temperature. The alignment of crystallites results in an increased...
polished mold
A mold for glass or plastics often made of stainless steel to prevent pitting or oxidation in service. It is polished to the opposite curve of the surface that will be molded, and may be spherical or...
polisher pressing
The process of forming a polisher by pressing it with an optical surface.
polishing
The optical process, following grinding, that puts a highly finished, smooth and apparently amorphous surface on a lens or a mirror.
polishing and abrasive material
Any of the numerous powders used for grinding and polishing glass, crystal or metal, the chief material being emery and carborundum for grinding, and rouge or the oxides of tin, cerium or other...
polishing jig
In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing disc.
polishing puck
A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.
polling
Inquiry made to gain access by a master station in a token ring network.
polycarbonate
A tough, durable, heat- and cold-resistant optical quality plastic used in injection-molded items such as streetlight lenses, automotive taillights and audio compact discs.
polychromatic acousto-optic modulator
A crystal-based device that combines and adjusts the intensities of multiple wavelengths of laser light in order to obtain the desired output wavelength.
polychromatic illumination
Light that is a mixture of wavelengths.
polychromatism -> dichroism
Dichroism refers to the property of certain materials to exhibit different colors or absorbance of light depending on the direction of light propagation or polarization. The term is commonly used in...
polycrystal
A substance that transmits the infrared, but which is too delicate or fragile to be used in the form of a single crystal. Instead, the pure material is finely ground, pressed to the required shape,...
polyethylene
A material used to jacket fiber optic cables. It is chemical- and moisture-resistant, but not fire-resistant.
polygonal mirror
A polygonal mirror, also known as a multifaceted mirror or facet mirror, is a type of optical component used in various laser systems, optical scanners, and imaging devices. It consists of a flat or...
polymer
Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units called monomers. These monomers are chemically bonded together to form long chains or networks, creating a macromolecular...
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used molecular biology technique used to amplify a specific segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through a series of temperature-controlled cycles....
polymerization
Process of synthesizing long molecular chain materials (polymers) by reaction of many small molecules (usually thousands) called monomers.
polymethyl methacrylate -> acrylic
Acrylic refers to a type of synthetic polymer material known for its versatility, clarity, and durability. It is commonly used in a wide range of applications due to its beneficial properties. Here...
polystyrene
A plastic used in molded optical components. Styrene elements can be combined with acrylic elements to produce achromatic lenses.
polysulfone resin
A thermoplastic, self-extinguishing polymer with excellent high-temperature, low-creep and arc resistance properties.
polyvinyl alcohol
An optical-quality polymer used in birefringent retarders.
PON
passive optical network
population inversion
The condition in which there are more atomic systems in the upper of two energy levels than in the lower, so stimulated emission will predominate over stimulated absorption. This condition may be...
Porro prism
A 45-90-45° reflecting prism whose surfaces form the 90° angle reflecting the light beam through a total angle of 180°. The corners of the prism are rounded to minimize breakage and simplify...
Porro prism erecting system
The arrangement of two Porro prisms so that the inverted image formed by certain types of optical instruments is the same as the object. The first prism, which is set at 90° to the second, inverts...
POS
point of sale
positioning
Positioning generally refers to the determination or identification of the location or placement of an object, person, or entity in a specific space or relative to a reference point. The term is used...
positive crystal
A uniaxial, birefringent crystal having an ordinary ray with a higher velocity than the extraordinary ray.
positive dielectric anisotropy
The dielectric coefficient parallel to the director in a liquid crystal display (LCD), rather than perpendicular to the director.
positive spherical aberration -> spherical aberration
Spherical aberration is an optical aberration that occurs when light rays passing through a lens or curved optical surface do not converge or diverge to a single focal point. Instead of focusing to a...
positive-intrinsic-negative diode -> 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...
positron -> electron
A charged elementary particle of an atom; the term is most commonly used in reference to the negatively charged particle called a negatron. Its mass at rest is me = 9.109558 x 10-31 kg, its charge is...
positron emission tomography
A medical imaging device that uses a ring of crystal/photomultiplier tube assemblies encircling the patient to detect gamma rays emitted by positrons colliding with electrons.
positronium
Basically, a hydrogen atom with two alterations, positronium is the lightest atom in the universe and has an extremely light positron in its nucleus that replaces hydrogen's proton so that its atomic...
posterization
In image processing, the effect caused by large jumps between gray levels, rather than a gradual change.
pot
potentiometer
potassium titanyl phosphate
A crystalline material with a high electro-optic coefficient, capable of operating at short wavelengths, with applications in laser, optical disc, printing and microwave systems.

Photonics Dictionary

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