Photonics Dictionary

Plastic optics refers to optical components or systems that are made from transparent plastic materials, as opposed to traditional optical components made from glass or other materials. Plastic...

A noncontact, nondestructive method of measuring defects in thin composite materials, using a xenon flashtube to generate heat in a sample. A thermal imaging system detects differences in the rates...

A laser with a gain medium consisting of an organic dye, which is carbon-based. The dye is mixed with a solvent, allowing the molecules to diffuse evenly throughout the liquid. The dye medium is...

Ratio of the radiance of the specimen to that of a perfect reflecting or transmitting diffuser identically irradiated.

The light from a nonselective diffuse reflector due to the standard illumination of the scene to be televised.

The ratio of reflected flux to incident flux. Unless otherwise specified, the total reflectance is meant; it is sometimes convenient to divide this into the sum of the specular and the diffuse...

Ratio of the directionally reflected flux to that reflected in the same direction by a perfect reflecting diffuser identically irradiated or illuminated.

An instrument that spectrally analyzes the flux reflected from a material. The reflected flux may be total, diffuse or specular. Often the instrument measures the reflectance factor instead of the...

Return of radiation by a surface, without change in wavelength. The reflection may be specular, from a smooth surface; diffuse, from a rough surface or from within the specimen; or mixed, a...

A self-interference effect that generates random patterns; secondary speckle pattern (SSP) typically occurs in diffuse reflections of a laser on paper, white paint or rough surfaces. By tracking both...

Refers to the variety of techniques that use the interference pattern produced by laser light diffusely reflected by an object. There are two basic techniques: direct laser photography, used when...

Diffuse stray light at the image plane of an optical system that results in reduced contrast and resolution.

The difference in electrokinetic potential between the stationary liquid connected to a solid phase surface and the mobile portion of the liquid's diffuse layer.