Photonics Dictionary

A defect in an optical system that prevents rays from reaching their intended destination; it can be caused by an undersized aperture, a baffle out of position, etc. In imaging applications, removing...

A signal, generated by an oscillator, that provides the means of synchronization of operations in a data communications network.

A television system that does not broadcast television signals but transmits them over a closed circuit.

A closed-loop system that compensates for thermal blooming by optimizing only one parameter: the amplitude of the phase correction.

In morphological image processing, a series of dilations followed by the same number of erosions.

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

A CMOS image sensor, short for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor, is a type of semiconductor device used to capture visual information and convert it into electrical signals for...

This type of miniaturized system, referred to as CMOS qPCR, combines microfluidic technology with an ultralow-light CMOS bio-optical sensor with LEDs as the optical excitation source to achieve...

Coagulation refers to the process of transforming a liquid, particularly blood or a solution containing dispersed particles, into a solid or semi-solid state. This term is most commonly associated...

Optical elements that have been coated with one or more layers of dielectric, or metallic material. These coatings serve to reduce or increase reflection from the surface, and to protect the surfaces...

CoaXPress (CoaXPress or CXP) is a standardized digital interface and communication protocol used primarily in machine vision and industrial imaging applications. It enables high-speed data...

Glass that transmits near-ultraviolet radiation but is opaque in the visible region. Also known as woods glass.

A device that combines the functions of encoder and decoder.

An imaging process in which the single opening of a simple pinhole camera is replaced with many openings called, collectively, the aperture. The recorded picture, which consists of many overlapping...

A reticle carrying patterns of various forms that can be rotated in an optical beam to cause variations in the intensity of the beam. It also is used in infrared detectors to scan the object field...

A numerical representation of the rate at which a material will exhibit dimensional changes as a direct result of changes in temperature.

A plane mirror mounted on a polar axis that lies parallel to the plane of the mirror. When the mirror is rotated once in 48 hours, celestial objects can be made to appear stationary and are...

A technique whereby two laser beams, one at an excitation wavelength and the second at a wavelength that produces Stokes Raman scattering, interact coherently in a sample, producing a strong...

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) is a powerful technique used in spectroscopy to probe molecular vibrations in a sample. It is based on the Raman effect, which involves the inelastic...

A coherent fiber bundle (CFB), also known as a coherent fiber optic bundle, is an assembly of multiple optical fibers arranged in a specific geometric pattern to maintain the spatial coherence of...

A light source that is capable of producing radiation with waves vibrating in phase. The laser is an example of a coherent light source.

The manifestation of light from scatterers outside the plane of the object in coherent light systems. The output of these systems is often marred by this noise.

The use of phase conjugation or other methods to increase the power density of a laser beam under adverse atmospheric conditions.

Radiation in which the phase relationship between any two points in the radiation field has a constant difference, or is exactly the same in either the spatial or the temporal mode throughout the...

An optical instrument used to determine the distance to a target being viewed. Two similar optical systems view the target via 45° mirrors at the ends of a fixed baseline. One system creates the...

Cold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to nanokelvin (nK) range, close to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C). At...

A cathode that emits electrons, not with the influence of heat radiation, but by means of a high-voltage gradient at its surface.

A method of applying antireflection coatings to optics that avoids the elevated temperatures normally used. A cold coating will not be as durable as a normal coating.

Deformation of a material caused by mechanical factors, especially constant pressure, and not attributable to thermal effects.

A mirror whose coating serves to reflect visible radiation while transmitting the infrared.

That part of an infrared detector-Dewar assembly that limits the solid angle viewed by the sensor; it is maintained at a uniformly cold temperature so that no thermal energy is emitted. Also known as...

The application of coating without heating of the substrates.

A means of illumination from which the infrared component has been removed by absorption or reflection filters within the condenser system.

Collaborative Robot (Cobot): Unlike traditional autonomous robots, which usually work by themselves, a collaborative robot is programmed to work with humans, such as a guide or an assistant. They can...

Category inclusive of all radiation that is incited electronically, except laser radiation, as a function of the application of laser power to a system.

The solid angle of a detector or system pupil as seen by the source.

A ring dye laser that uses prisms and a saturable absorber within the laser cavity to shape and shorten the pulses generated. Counterpropagating modes oscillating simultaneously in the ring...

Radiation in which every ray from any given object point can be considered to be parallel to every other. This is never completely the case: The light from a star is really diverging, and all...