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228 terms

Photonics Dictionary

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corner-cube prism -> corner cube

A corner cube, also known as a corner reflector or retroreflector prism, is a type of optical device used to reflect light or electromagnetic waves back towards their source with minimal deviation in...

corner-cube reflector -> corner cube

crystal laser -> solid-state laser

A solid-state laser is a type of laser that uses a solid gain medium (as opposed to a liquid or gas) to produce coherent light. The term "solid-state" refers to the fact that the active medium, where...

cube-corner prism -> corner cube

Dammann grating

A Dammann grating is a type of diffractive optical element (DOE) used to create an array of equally spaced, uniform-intensity spots or beams. It is named after its inventor, Dr. Herbert Dammann. The...

dichroic mirror

A dichroic mirror, also known as a dichroic beamsplitter or interference filter beamsplitter, is an optical device that selectively reflects or transmits light based on its wavelength. Dichroic...

differential interference contrast microscopy

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, is an optical imaging technique used in microscopy to enhance the contrast of transparent...

differential mode delay

Differential mode delay (DMD) is a parameter used to characterize the propagation characteristics of optical fibers, particularly in multimode fiber optic systems. It refers to the difference in...

diffraction efficiency

Diffraction efficiency is a measure of how effectively a diffractive optical element (DOE) or diffraction grating directs light into specific diffraction orders or achieves a desired optical effect....

diffractive lens

Any optical device that utilizes diffraction in an image-forming capability. Familiar diffractive lenses are zone plates, holographic lenses, kinoform lenses and binary optics.

digital holographic microscopy

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is an advanced imaging technique that combines holography and digital image processing to capture and reconstruct three-dimensional images of objects. This method...

diode laser -> diode laser

A diode laser is a type of laser that uses a semiconductor diode as the active medium to generate coherent light. Semiconductor diodes are electronic devices that conduct electricity primarily in one...

diode laser

diopter

A unit of optical measurement that expresses the refractive power of a lens or prism. In a lens or lens system, it is the reciprocal of the focal length in meters. For example, if a lens has a focal...

dispersion

Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...

double refraction

The separation of unpolarized light into two plane-polarized elements by a doubly refracting crystal. When a crystal, such as calcite, is placed between the eye and a pinhole in a card, two bright...

double-clad fiber

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a specialized optical fiber that features two concentric cladding layers surrounding a core. The design of double-clad fibers allows them to be used in various...

edge-emitting LED

An edge-emitting light-emitting diode is a type of LED structure where light emission occurs primarily along the edge of the semiconductor chip rather than from the surface. Edge-emitting LEDs are...

elasto-optic effect

A change in the refractive index of an optical fiber caused by variation in the length of the fiber core in response to mechanical stress.

electro-optic deflector

An electro-optic deflector is a device that can change the direction of light beams using an electric field. It operates based on the electro-optic effect, which involves the modulation of the...

electro-optic effect

The change in the refractive index of a material under the influence of an electrical field.

electro-optic material

A material having refractive indices that can be altered by an applied electric field.

electro-optic modulator

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) is a device used to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light waves using an external electrical signal. Electro-optic modulation is a fundamental...

electro-optics

1. The branch of physics that deals with the use of electrical energy to create or manipulate light waves, generally by changing the refractive index of a light-propagating material; 2....

ellipsometry

Ellipsometry is an optical technique used to characterize the properties of thin films and surfaces. It is based on the measurement of changes in the polarization state of light reflected or...

enantiomer

Enantiomers are a pair of molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, similar to left and right hands. They are stereoisomers, meaning they have the same molecular formula and...

etalon

An etalon is an optical device that consists of two parallel reflecting surfaces separated by a precise and known distance. It operates based on the principle of optical interference and is used to...

fiber -> optical fiber

Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a...

fiber Bragg grating

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of optical filter that is inscribed or "written" into the core of an optical fiber. It consists of a periodic modulation of the refractive index along the length...

fiber laser

A fiber laser is a type of laser in which the active gain medium is an optical fiber doped with rare-earth ions such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium. Fiber lasers generate coherent light through...

fiber optic preform

A fiber optic preform is a cylindrical glass rod or tube used as the starting material for manufacturing optical fibers. It serves as the precursor from which optical fibers are drawn. The process of...

flint glass

One of the two major types of optical glass, the other being crown glass. Flint glass is softer than crown glass, has a higher dispersion and usually a higher refractive index.

fluor crown glass

Optical glass that possesses a refractive index equal to or less than 1.5, and an Abbe number that ranges from 62 to about 85.

fluorite

The optical form of the crystal fluorspar, calcium fluoride, that is utilized for its low optical dispersion, its low refractive index, and its transparency to infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

fluorospar -> fluorite

The optical form of the crystal fluorspar, calcium fluoride, that is utilized for its low optical dispersion, its low refractive index, and its transparency to infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

freeform mirrors

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric shapes, such as spheres or paraboloids. Unlike conventional mirrors, which...

Fresnel loss -> Fresnel reflection loss

Reflection losses incurred at input and output of optical elements because of the difference in refractive index between glass and the immersion medium.

Fresnel reflection

Fresnel reflection refers to the reflection of light at the interface between two different media with different refractive indices. This phenomenon was named after the French engineer and physicist...

Fresnel reflection loss

Reflection losses incurred at input and output of optical elements because of the difference in refractive index between glass and the immersion medium.

gain

Also known as amplification. 1. The increase in a signal that is transmitted from one point to another through an amplifier. A material that exhibits gain rather than absorption, at certain...

geometric optics

A field of physics that deals with light as if it truly were composed of rays diverging in various directions from the source and abruptly bent by refraction or turned by reflection into paths...

glass laser

An optically pumped solid-state laser in which the active medium is a neodymium ion in a glass rod host. Abbreviated Nd:glass.

graded index

Descriptive of an optical fiber having a core refractive index that decreases almost parabolically and radially outward toward the cladding. This type of fiber combines high bandwidth with moderately...

gradient-index profile

The term gradient-index profile refers to a specific type of refractive index distribution within an optical material. In optics, the refractive index of a material describes how much the speed of...

graduated refractive index -> graded index

GRIN lens

A GRIN (gradient index) lens is a type of optical lens that utilizes a gradient in refractive index across its volume rather than having a uniform refractive index like conventional lenses. This...

heterostructures

A method used in integrated optics; formed by growing an epitaxial layer of active material, removing it from its base and splicing it onto a passive substrate.

holographic microscopy

The holographic recording of a microscopic specimen whereby magnification is achieved by alteration in a wavelength or radius of curvature between recording and reconstruction of the wavefront. With...

image motion compensation

The active control of various aspects (optical element position, airspace thickness, etc.) of an optical system that compensates for unwanted movement of the image that is caused by mechanical and...

impurity level

In the context of optical materials, the term "impurity level" refers to the presence of foreign atoms or molecules within the material that deviate from its regular or intrinsic composition. These...

Photonics Dictionary

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