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Photonics Dictionary

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glass-melting furnace

A furnace used to heat glass materials. It may be a small laboratory-type furnace for small-scale experiments or large enough to hold gas-fired tanks for the commercial mass production of glass....

grating beamsplitter

A grating beamsplitter is an optical device that utilizes the principles of diffraction to split a beam of light into multiple beams, often redirecting them at specific angles. It is based on the...

Higgs boson

The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, a field that permeates the universe and is responsible for giving mass to other fundamental particles through the mechanism...

immersion objective -> oil-immersion objective

A form of high-power microscope objective where the space between the object and the first element is filled with an oil having the same index as that element. This form reduces losses, increases the...

indium

Metal used in components of the crystalline semiconductor alloys indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), indium gallium arsenide phosphide (InGaAsP), and the binary semiconductor indium phosphide (InP)....

infrared alarm system

A system that uses infrared detectors and related instrumentation to determine when abnormal amounts of infrared radiation, usually in the form of heat, are present in an area; used for the detection...

infrared camera

An infrared camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera or IR camera, is a device that captures and visualizes the infrared radiation emitted by objects, revealing temperature variations across...

infrared detector

An infrared detector is a device that is used to detect and measure infrared radiation, which lies beyond the visible spectrum of light. These detectors are utilized in various applications,...

infrared lens

An infrared lens is an optical component specifically designed and optimized for transmitting, focusing, or manipulating infrared (IR) radiation within the infrared spectrum. These lenses are used in...

infrared

Infrared (IR) refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths longer than those of visible light, but shorter than those of microwaves. The infrared spectrum spans wavelengths...

intensity interferometer

An interferometer that functions by first detecting the light striking each aperture and then combining the two detector outputs. With an intensity interferometer, the primary collectors need not be...

internal transmittance

The ratio of the radiant power transmitted to the second surface of a medium to the corresponding radiant power that has just passed through the first surface. Internal transmittance does not denote...

Kerr effect

The Kerr effect, named after the physicist John Kerr who first observed it in 1875, is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where the refractive index of a material changes in response to an applied...

Koehler illumination

A two-stage illuminating system for a microscope in which the source is imaged in the aperture of the substage condenser by an auxiliary condenser, and the substage condenser in turn forms an image...

laser crystal

A laser crystal, also known as an active medium or gain medium, is a solid-state material used in the construction of lasers. The primary function of the laser crystal is to amplify light by...

laser rangefinder

A laser rangefinder is a device that uses laser technology to measure the distance between the device and a target. It operates on the principle of measuring the time it takes for a laser beam to...

laser, gas -> gas laser

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although some high-power forms employ chemical reaction or gas compression and...

laser

A laser, which stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," is a device that produces coherent and focused beams of light through the process of optical amplification based...

luminescence

Luminescence is the emission of light that occurs without the involved substance undergoing a significant increase in temperature. In other words, it is the production and emission of light by a...

Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...

magneto-optics

Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic radiation). This field of physics explores how the properties of light, such...

Mangin mirror

A double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens and second rear surface is a spherical mirror. This combination utilizes...

mercury vapor light source

A lamp that has mercury in a tube or bulb that has first been evacuated. The electricity travels through the vapor between the electrodes and produces a blue-green light that is rich in ultraviolet...

modified chemical vapor deposition

Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) that is employed to produce...

monochromatic illuminator -> monochromator

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

monochromator

A monochromator is an optical instrument used to isolate and select a narrow range of wavelengths from a broader spectrum of light. The term monochromator is derived from "monochromatic," meaning...

multiple laser sequence

Also known as gatling gun laser. A system that has an array of lasers sharing a common central axis on a rotating Fabry plate to achieve increased laser firing rates by sequential Q-switching.

near-field holography

A lithography method that allows the transfer of fine-pitch gratings from a phase mask into photoresist. The exposure takes place with the light coming under an oblique angle to the mask. The...

neuromorphic vision sensor

A neuromorphic vision sensor is a type of imaging device designed to mimic the structure and functioning of the human visual system. Inspired by the biological principles of the human eye and brain,...

Nichols radiometer

An instrument devised by Nichols and Hull for use in the measurement of radiation pressure. The device has two small silvered, glass mirrors that are suspended, in the way of a torsion balance, by a...

nodal testing

The measurement of first- and higher order properties of a lens and its formed image, including effective focal length, back focal length, f number, aberrations, blur patterns, magnification and...

object conjugate -> object distance

The distance between the object and the cornea, or the first surface of the objective in an optical device.

object distance

The distance between the object and the cornea, or the first surface of the objective in an optical device.

objective

The optical element that receives light from the object and forms the first or primary image in telescopes and microscopes. In cameras, the image produced by the objective is the final image. In...

oil-immersion objective

optical design and engineering services

Optical design and engineering services involve the development, customization, and optimization of optical systems and components to meet specific performance requirements and application needs....

optical parametric chriped-pulse amplification

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is an advanced technique used in ultrafast laser systems to amplify optical pulses to extremely high intensities while maintaining their short...

optogenetics

A discipline that combines optics and genetics to enable the use of light to stimulate and control cells in living tissue, typically neurons, which have been genetically modified to respond to light....

paraxial

Characteristic of optical analyses that are limited to infinitesimally small apertures. Also called first-order or Gaussian optics.

perovskite

The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a cubic arrangement of oxygen ions, forming a framework within which other...

photolysis flash -> spectroscopic flash

The light flash, produced in flash photolysis, that is triggered within a second discharge tube by the third electrode. It is to be differentiated from the photolysis flash which is triggered within...

photonics contract manufacturing

Photonics contract manufacturing refers to the outsourcing of the production of photonics-related components, devices, or systems to specialized manufacturing firms. Photonics involves the...

piezo worm

A piezoelectric translator that moves up and down a spindle like a caterpillar. It clamps itself at one end, expands, clamps the other end, releases the first end, and then contracts and begins the...

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...

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...

polyethylene

A material used to jacket fiber optic cables. It is chemical- and moisture-resistant, but not fire-resistant.

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...

primary spectrum

The first-order spectrum formed by a diffraction grating.

Q-switched pulse

A laser output that occurs when the cavity resonator Q is first kept very low, using rotating mirrors or saturable absorbers, so that the population inversion achieved is greater than usual. A high...

quality, surface -> surface quality

The specification of allowable flaws in a surface by comparison to reference standards of quality. Two graded sets of surface quality standards are employed. The first denotes defects of a long...

Photonics Dictionary

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