Photonics Dictionary

Photolithography is a key process in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). It is a photomechanical process used to transfer...

The branch of science that treats light as a wave phenomenon wherein light propagation is studied by wavefronts rather than rays, as in geometric optics.

Geometrical partition possible with a sphere that can be four, six, eight, 12 or 20 solid-angle wedges. Each platonic mass is made up of a given number of regular polygonal faces and is classified...

Single-mode fiber that preserves the plane of polarization of the light launched into it as the beam propagates through its length. Also called polarization-maintaining fiber. The polarization is...

A prism is a geometric optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. It is typically a solid, transparent object with at least two flat surfaces that are inclined relative to each...

A geometric representation of a light path through an optical device; a line normal to the wavefront indicating the direction of radiant energy flow.

A reticle, also known as a reticule or graticule, is a pattern or set of markings placed in the focal plane of an optical instrument, such as a microscope, telescope, riflescope, or camera, to...

1. In the geometric sense, an abbreviation for the term "sagitta,'' the height of a curve measured from the chord. and it is exact for a parabola. 2. Conforming a sheet of glass to a...

An arrangement of optical fibers in a bundle whereby the geometric configuration of the input end differs from that of the output end without changing the total area; for example, a circular bundle...

On a test chart, the pattern designed to direct and measure geometric distortion.

A technique for creating optimal performance in a system by producing a specific beam irradiance distribution, usually through the use of geometric optics. A common design involves the use of ray...

Image displacement by a decentered lens, rotated on a chuck whose axis of rotation passes through the geometrical center of the rim of the lens, when the light source is at an infinite distance. It...

The lateral distance between a vertical line drawn through the geometrical center of the distance portion of a multifocal, and a vertical line penetrating the geometrical center of the segment.

For each mode in an optical waveguide, the term used to describe the process by which an electromagnetic signal is distorted by virtue of the dependence of the phase and group velocities on...