Photonics Dictionary

An adhesive used for bonding optical elements or for holding devices.

Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te). These elements are known as...

Chirped mirrors are optical devices designed to manipulate the spectral properties of ultrashort laser pulses. They consist of multiple layers of dielectric coatings deposited on a substrate, where...

An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently includes multiple devices such as high-speed video and film cameras as well as...

A mechanism or device, especially a coating with a refractive index equal to or slightly greater than that of an optical fiber's cladding, that removes modes propagating through the cladding by...

An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e. illuminated slit or retical) at its focal plane. Collimators are used to...

A computer-generated hologram (CGH) is a holographic image produced using computational methods and algorithms, rather than traditional optical techniques. CGHs are generated entirely in digital form...

That property of certain optical devices, e.g., a penta prism, that maintains the angular relationship between the entering and the emerging rays traversing the system regardless of the orientation...

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...

1. In color development, the chemical that combines with certain by-products of the development procedure to form a dye. 2. Device for distributing optical power among two or more ports. 3. Device...

A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or...

A cylindrical lens is an optical component that has different curvatures along its two orthogonal axes, resulting in a shape resembling a cylinder. Unlike spherical lenses, which have the same...

A device used to delay transmission of a signal for functions such as memory loops, sequential processing or built-in testing. The delay can be achieved by coiling long lengths of coaxial cable or...

1. An instrument used to measure the opacity or density of dyes, pigments or dispersed particles that form an image in or on a medium, such as a photographic film. 2. A device used to measure the...

A device in which the functions of optical detector and emitter are combined.

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

1. An optical device used for projection of enlarged images of transparencies or lantern slides on a screen. 2. A device designed to hold and backlight transparencies so that their images can be...

Dichalcogenides are a class of compounds composed of two atoms of a chalcogen element bonded to a single atom of a metal or metalloid element. Chalcogens are the elements in group 16 of the periodic...

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...

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....

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

A digital camera is a device that captures and records still images or video in digital format. Unlike traditional film cameras, which use photographic film to capture and store images, digital...

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...

A measurement of the spatial resolution of a line or area array in an optical character recognition scanning device.

The hardware for reading (and writing in devices so equipped) an optical mass data storage disk.

A type of erasable data storage device that uses a medium deposited on the disc in two layers, each dyed to absorb a different wavelength of laser light. To record data, the lower layer is heated by...

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...

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...

A device used to control or block a light beam by means of the Kerr electro-optical effect.

An electron-beam lithography (EBL) system is a sophisticated nanofabrication tool used in the semiconductor industry and research laboratories to pattern extremely fine features with sub-micrometer...

The term "embedded laser" typically refers to a laser device that is integrated or embedded into a larger system or structure. In this context, "embedded" implies that the laser is an integral part...

A laser or laser system positioned within an enclosure to prevent dangerous optical radiation from leaving the enclosure.

An endoscope is a medical device used for visualizing and examining the interior of hollow organs, body cavities, or confined spaces within the body. It consists of a flexible or rigid tube equipped...

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...

Etaloning is an optical phenomenon that occurs in imaging systems, particularly in devices such as spectrometers, interferometers, and cameras. It is characterized by the appearance of interference...

An optical device used to monitor movement of the human eye.

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...

A fiber optic cable assembly refers to a complete unit consisting of optical fibers, connectors, protective jackets, and other components that are assembled together to facilitate the transmission of...

A device used to prepare optical fiber end faces; a scribe line made by the cleaver's blade propagates across the fiber, resulting in a clean break.