Photonics Dictionary

A model that predicts laser-induced damage to thin films caused by irradiation of identical, randomly distributed film defects.

A laser whose output is limited to a single wavelength.

An optical waveguide in which only the lowest order bound mode, which may consist of a pair of orthogonally polarized fields, can propagate at the wavelength of interest.

Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a specialized technique in biophysics and molecular biology used to study the distances and dynamic interactions between two...

An advanced technique that allows the detection of one molecule within a crystal or a cell through optical excitation. Single-molecule spectroscopy (SMS) can image at subwavelength scales, down to a...

A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a specialized type of photodetector designed to detect extremely weak optical signals, down to the level of single photons. SPADs are widely used in...

A medical imaging method in which gamma camera heads rotate about the patient to detect radionuclides, enabling physicians to monitor functions within the body such as metabolism or blood flow.

A technique for observing the decay of light emissions from sources following their pulsed excitations, based on recording the arrival time of the first photoelectron after excitation. After many...

Referred to as SWCNTs, these cylindrical nanostructures composed of a folded sheet of graphene can be used as near-infrared markers for small animal multiplex imaging. Emitting at different...

A singlet lens is an optical lens made from a single piece of material, typically glass or plastic, with one or both surfaces being spherical or aspherical. It is the most basic type of lens used in...

A singulated die refers to an individual semiconductor chip that has been separated or singulated from a larger wafer. This term is commonly used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. ...

Sisyphus cooling is a technique used in atomic physics to achieve ultracold temperatures of atoms or molecules by exploiting the periodic motion of particles in optical traps or lattices. The name...

The angle at which photoelectric sensors are aligned to prevent light from being reflected back to the sensor from the object during retroreflective sensing; also, the angle a measured part is...

Any ray through an optical system that is not a meridional ray. The plane created by a refracted skew ray does not contain the optical axis.

A system employing a dark trace tube in which the opacity of the screen is varied as a function of the power of the beam.

Streaks of dense seeds with accompanying small bubbles.

A filter designed to decrease the luminosity of the sky without decreasing that of the landscape in the foreground. A filter that has a depth of tint that decreases from top to bottom is used in...

Variations in signal detected on a bolometer that are caused by instabilities in the temperature of the sky.

A skyrmion is a topologically stable, vortex-like configuration of spins in a magnetic material. These configurations are characterized by a swirling pattern where the direction of the magnetic...

The method for measuring the index profile of an optical fiber by preparing a thin sample that has its faces perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, and measuring its index profile by interferometry.

Solid-state laser geometry in which the standard rod is replaced by a slab of laser material. Often called total-internal-reflection face-pumped laser (TIR-FPL).

A waveguide with a rectangular cross section that is composed entirely of dielectric materials.

The process of making an abrupt break in a spherical surface on a spectacle lens so that a new center of curvature is set for a portion of the lens. This has the effect of adding a prism to that...

A polishing scratch having no visible conchoidal breaking of the edges.

A crystal, glass, or quartz slicing and cutting machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in the manufacturing process to precisely cut and slice materials such as crystals, glass, and quartz...

A lens designed for projection of color transparencies.

An optical projection device designed to project positive color transparencies onto a screen for viewing.

An aperture, usually rectangular in shape, with a large length-to-width ratio, and a fixed or adjustable shape through which radiation enters or leaves an instrument. The aperture is generally small...

The error inherent in spectral energy or spectrophotometric quantity due to the finite dimension of the entrance and exit slits.

In photonics, a slot modulator refers to a type of optical modulator that operates based on the principle of modifying the optical properties of a slot waveguide. A slot modulator is an optical...

A television system that uses a slow rate of horizontal scanning to increase its reproduction and transmittance accuracy of printed matter, photographs and illustrations.

The name of the mixture of liquid and grinding or polishing compounds used in processing optical materials.

The fiber optic connector developed and manufactured by Amphenol Fiber Optic Products.

The investigation of microstructures by an instrument that generates a narrow, highly collimated beam of x-rays.

A bomb guided to its target by some form of electro-optical system.

Smart cities are urban environments that use information and communication technologies (ICT) and data-driven solutions to optimize city operations and services across various domains such as...